Doubts in the Path to Destiny
by High Serpent King
Summary: Sequel to Forks. When an invasion force, armed with magic of the worst kind, comes to conquer the land, Merlin is all to ready to openly serve and protect Camelot. Though it would seem that the threat is too great for even Merlin to contend with. Camelot is at its darkest hour and it seems that Arthur is left with little choice but to call upon unlikely allies.
1. The Truce

**Dangers in the Path to Destiny**

A/N: This is the sequel to my first story Forks in the Path to Destiny. If you haven't read that one first than this might not make much sense. For those of you that read my first one, welcome back. I just watched the first episode of series 5 and I was riveted which further amped me up for writing now.

_Summary__: Camelot and Albion are within a Truce with Arthur and Merlin in the center of it all. Their friendship has suffered and neither knows if they can ever have it as it was again. Meanwhile, an invasion army from the north beyond the lands of Briton have come with a strong magical force on their side. Their intentions for conquering all of the five kingdoms is clear and they plan to start with Camelot. This force may be too much for even Arthur or Merlin to handle. Camelot's doom seems certain and it's only hope may be to truly let go of hate and fear and seek a formal alliance with magic. But can Camelot and its people as well as magic and its people join forces after such history between them? Can Arthur and Merlin also find in themselves to become both the team of legend as well as the best friends again?_

Here's a simple recap of the things that have happened. It was discovered that there was a hidden sanctuary for those of magic within Camelot's borders. That sanctuary was a city by the name of Albion and its honorguard are the Order of the Bear. It consists of both magical and non-magical warriors that protect them and seek to help innocent users of magic. Camelot was given leads to their location and Arthur went with Gwen, his best men and Merlin to investigate it. Merlin befriended the people of Albion especially their leader Lord Connor and his magic was revealed to Arthur and the others. Merlin and Arthur became estranged as the secrets of Arthur's life came to light. Alvarr and Mordred had tried turning the two sides against each other but through the combined efforts of the knights and the order the deception was discovered and defeated. Once this was found out, war had been carefully avoided and a treaty of truce was made between the two sides. Now Merlin is the official magical ambassador for Albion in Camelot and he has Sir Galahad and Sir Kay as his official aids and protection.

Chapter 1: The Truce

It was the early morning and the sun had just started to spill it's dawning light on the city of Camelot. The people were rising up from their beds and getting ready to start their days. Over at the castle, even the King of Camelot: Arthur, was getting to his feet. Gwen had gotten up already and was heading out to check on her brother who had caught a cold two days before. His servant had already prepared his clothes and were ready on a small table by the screen. As he changed he caught a glimpse of his servant who already was making the bed. He gasped for a second as he thought he saw a certain someone but his gasp had made the servant turn around and proved that he was seeing things. This servant wasn't Merlin but one of the servants who used to previously be one of the ones that worked on the guest rooms.

It had been a year since he had fired his old manservant and friend. When Merlin had been fired and he had to find a replacement and eventually found a suitable one. Gale, was his name and he was very different from what he had gotten used to before. He hardly talked except to tell Arthur about what was finished and done or what was behind when it came with his chores. He was punctual with Arthur's demands and never complained on his duties. His build was even different as he was taller and slightly bigger than Merlin. The only thing that they remotely shared was that their hair was nearly the same especially from the back which was why he had been startled for a moment.

The reason Merlin was fired was because he had now become an ambassador after their adventure last year. Camelot had found an entire city hidden from the sight full of magic users and their allies. Naturally, when it came to magic, Arthur had led a small group to investigate it and things had changed. Merlin was now that city's ambassador and representative in Camelot's court since it was technically within Camelot's borders. His secret life as a sorcerer was now known to the whole kingdom and Arthur could still remember the shock and hurt he felt at that revelation. Now...the two of them were civil to each other; they had to be for the sake of the Truce that had been reached. Yet, they still didn't talk with each other like they used to do. Mostly, it was about business that they talked with each other now.

Merlin wasn't even here in the city at the moment. He was with Sirs Galahad and Kay in Albion giving their annual visit and report to Lord Connor. It was a condition of the Truce that the three of them return to the city of Albion to make an annual report on how they were doing here in the city and if Camelot was following their part. Also, if memory serves right, this was also the time of Albion's Founding Festival. Considering how the last one ended, they probably were putting everything into it to make up for last year. They probably also wanted to stay for the entire thing which lasts for a week. He guessed he would see them again in a few days.

There was then a knock on the door which brought him back to the present. "Enter." he said.

It was Leon. "Arthur, Merlin and the others are back."

He almost tripped on his own feet to face Leon. He privately thought Merlin would've been proud. "What?"

"Merlin, Galahad and Kay are back in the city. They're walking their horses into the city for the castle now."

"You know," he said putting on his shirt. "After a year, you would think that they would know it's okay to ride within the city."

Leon shrugged his shoulders. "It's their way. Old habits die hard I guess."

"Well...I guess that I should be there to welcome them. Those three have been gone longer than usual. Does Gwen know?" he said as he put on his royal robes.

"Tristan is letting her know now."

* * *

Gwen had walked into her brother's room to see that he already had a pair keeping him company. He was sitting in his bed taking a potion that Gaius had handed him. Elyan had been hit with a cold as did a few others in the city but thankfully it was nothing serious. A small outbreak had hit the city after a week of stormy weather for the city but there were no fatal cases. Elyan had been on excessive patrols in that horrible weather and paid for it by catching the cold. Gwen then looked on the third occupant in the room - Eli.

Eli had been Gaius apprentice for a year and he was coming along nicely. He was formerly from the village that was now under Albion. Gaius had seen that he had great medical potential and decided to take him under his wing. He was given Merlin's old room and it seemed that he was adjusting well to his new home. Already he was as common a sight as Merlin was when he had first come to Camelot all those years ago. From time to time, Gwen had seen Eli go into the town and talk with the other young boys to play or roughhouse with. When it was time for his duties, he could see him right by Gaius learning about different potions and herbs or carrying the supplies that he gathers for him. Gaius was also teaching him how to read and write and while it seemed slow going, Eli was getting a grasp on it and was excited. Thanks to his new writing skills he was able to start writing letters to his father back home. As for the two of them personally, they seemed to be getting along well. Eli clearly respected Gaius and Gaius seemed to be growing fond of him.

Yet there will always be one who Gaius will always love as if he were his own son.

"Milady."

Everyone looked to the door to find Tristan there.

"Yes?" she asked turning to face him.

"It would seem Merlin, Galahad and Kay have returned. They're walking to the castle now."

"I'll be right there," she said following Tristan out the door.

"As will I," said Gaius. "as soon as I finish checking Elyan over."

"I feel fine Gaius," said Elyan halting him. "Just a little tired but other than that I'm as good as new. Go, see Merlin. I know you've been missing him."

"I can't in good conscience just do that Elyan. Merlin would understand if I'm not there to greet him at the door. Eli, hand me the blue vial."

* * *

Merlin was slowly walking for the citadel pulling his horse forward with Galahad and Kay right behind him. Both of them had on their Order armor and colors on while Merlin had majestic robes with the Order's colors and their crest etched on the right though he had his neckerchief peeking out at the neck. Their slower trek to the castle had the people take a good look at the return of the magical presence in the city. Even though it had been a year, the sight of known sorcerers in their midst still made a lot of the people nervous. The only thing that made them even more nervous was the fact that they returned from a now known city filled with sorcerers.

Despite the unease, things had been progressing well. In the last year, there had been a total of 11 magic users within the limits of Camelot that had been found or came forward to be taken to Albion under Merlin's care. Four of them were found within the first month of the new regime set up in Camelot. He had to wonder if the news of the city of Albion's existence may have had something to do with it though he couldn't blame them if it was. A few years ago, if he had heard of such a place and that there were people to escort him there, he would've come out of hiding in all his magical glory. So far, there weren't any problems meeting with them and taking them there. All eleven of them wanted and were eager for their relocation though both Galahad and Kay kept telling Merlin to be ready for one that wouldn't be. They never really said anything beyond that but there was hidden meaning in those words and he could feel it.

As for the three of them personally, they were still working out the kinks of actually being in the city between escorts. For both Merlin and Kay, they refrained from using magic in plain sight except when they were in the training fields. Though most of Camelot's court had preferred that they not use magic at all, the three of them had to insist that even magic needed time to be used and practiced. Kay would train his magic in target practice as well as any other battling magic like he did back at Albion. Even Galahad insisted that he needed to practice using the magical properties of his sword from time to time as much as the knights had to practice with their assorted weapons skills. Merlin was starting to get a few spells and teaching from Connor during their annual reports that he would work on when he returned to Camelot with Kay and Galahad helping where they could. Though, without anyone knowing, Merlin and Kay often used magic behind the closed doors of their room.

The three of them arrived in the citadel where their horses were taken by the stable hands. Arthur was there at the front entrance with Gwen and a few others to formally welcome them back.

"Welcome back," he said extending his hand to Merlin.

Merlin took it and gave it a firm shake. "It's nice to be back."

They then let go. Arthur looked to both Galahad and Kay and nodded to each of them and they nodded back. "You were gone longer than usual. I guess you wanted to stay a little for your city's Founding Festival."

Merlin tried not to flinch at 'your city' as it slipped out of Arthur's mouth. He kept his expression blank as he answered back. "Albion's celebration was distracting but we thought it best to return to Camelot and not stray too far from our duties. We were already caught up enough by it so we thought we shouldn't stay for the whole thing. Excuse us sire, we better go unpack. We've been traveling all night and we need some rest."

Arthur pushed down the nostalgic feeling of missing Merlin giving him some sarcasm at such a prime opportunity. "Of course. You three should get some rest."

Gwen looked between the two of them and she felt numb from the exchange. Ever since they came back from Albion a year ago, that was the flow of their conversations. Arthur only ever talked with Merlin relating to business or duties while Merlin responded with very respectful answers. It wasn't at all what she was used to with them. She was used to Arthur teasing Merlin and Merlin giving sarcastic lip to Arthur. Them being so formal with one another was more bizarre to her than anything so far.

"It's good to have you back Merlin," said Gwen with a smile. "Galahad, Kay, you too."

Merlin gave her a small smile. "Thanks Gwen. It's good to see you too."

At least with her, he was still somewhat the same happy young man she'd known. She still was a little uncomfortable whenever he or Kay used magic on the grounds but other than that they were virtually the same.

Merlin went through the corridors, with Galahad and Kay right behind him, where any servants who caught sight of them either hurried past them or backed into the walls until they passed by. This was so common that the three of them hardly noticed it anymore. It was an improvement from the start as often they would jump in shock or drop whatever they were holding when they got back last year. At first, it had been a little amusing but it quickly lost it's humor. They came upon their room and they went in. Normally, the three of them would've been given three separate rooms but they insisted on one shared room. The three of them had said that they didn't need such a large space for themselves. In the room were three cots instead of one large bed with their belongs spread about. and there was still a lot of room.

"Home sweet home," Merlin said dropping his sack on his bed.

"I still can't believe we have to miss the final day of the festival," said Kay slumping onto his bed. "I think I was starting to catch the eye of one of the growers. She'd been eying me for the last few days and I thought she was quite lovely."

"I'm sorry Kay but we were already three days overdue."

"It's not like we had a time limit in our visits Merlin. Something tells me that it wouldn't have been an issue in Camelot's court. I think they would've proposed a feast if we asked to stay longer."

"Kay," Galahad said pointedly.

"Sorry." he said sitting up in his bed.

"The point is," said Merlin. "that we are here to protect the rights of those with magic in this kingdom. I didn't want us to be gone too long. We're at a fragile stage right now."

"Right...I'm sorry." said Kay. "It's just that I'm not used to staying so long in a place where I'm clearly not wanted. And being home during the festival where we celebrate our union...I guess I'm less than enthusiastic about our duty here."

"Neither am I," said Galahad. "I may not have magic but I'm still a firm supporter and friend of it. Arthur's court isn't very happy towards me any more than you two but I understand how important it is to be here. If I have to endure steely looks and backtalk for magicians to not fear for their lives then that's what I'll do."

"I know but I still don't like it. Especially when they're making us round up our kin to move them off their lands."

Merlin was confused by that. "Yes...but we are offering them a chance to not be alone."

"Merlin," Kay got to his feet. "You've only been around our ways for a year but you haven't really learned much. Granted you're skilled in magic and getting better but you still lack knowing about magical people. The most important fact that you have to know is that they're people and like all people...they're not all the same."

'_What did Kay mean by that_?' thought Merlin.

"Don't worry about it Merlin," said Galahad. Obviously, his question showed on his face. "You'll get it soon enough and hopefully you can help your friends get it too."

* * *

In the throne room, Arthur and Gwen were listening to some issues presented by the court. Gaius was there with Eli right behind him where Merlin used to be. There were knights and lords were also in the room and they were all listening to some reports. Right now, a farmer from the northern borders was before them.

"Our cattle have been disappearing for the last few weeks. Every rancher has lost livestock and our grain stocks have been picked clean."

"Thieves?" asked Arthur.

"We're not sure. If it is then they are the most slippery thieves we've ever seen. No one suspicious has been seen and there have been no tracks or trails to follow. It's as if the cattle and crops just vanish from their spots. And many of us are losing our supplies at the same time as each other. We need your help sire before this turns to a real problem."

"Do not worry. We will help you solve this mystery and keep your food and livestock safe."

"Thank you sire." the man said before he left the room.

"What could be making their food supplies just disappear like that?" asked Gwen.

Arthur thought on what he just heard about what was stolen and the lack of clues. "It could be bandits. This sounds like looting to me though I never heard of bandits that were this stealthy before. They usually just use brute force to take what they want."

"Could it be some type of flying beasts that are taking the food?" asked one of the lords. "That would explain the lack of trails and tracks."

"Is it possible Gaius?" Arthur asked.

Gaius thought on it for a while but then shook his head. "I don't think so. If it was just the livestock then I would say it was possible. Yet...with the crops, there aren't any beasts that I know that eat both crops and animals. The only thing that I could see that would take both like this would be people."

Now Arthur was lost. "But, then what kind of people could be taking their stocks without being seen?"

"The only way I can see that happening..." said Gaius a little hesistantly. "is with sorcery sire."

At that, the court went into a frenzy. Gaius and even Eli were holding in their irritation at the accusation starting to form within the court.

"Sorcery, then obviously the Albions are to blame." said Renmar.

"We should bring those three in here right now and demand they return those provisions that were taken," added Sir Ferris.

Gwen cut him off. "Ferris! Merlin, Galahad and Kay just got back today from Albion. Not to mention its to the south. They aren't responsible for anything."

"Let's not forget that they were late in returning to the city." pointed out Lord Calhoun. "They could've doubled back and have done this."

"They were in Albion for their Founding Festival," she defended.

"So they said." he shot back.

Arthur slammed his fist on his throne's armrest to bring everyone to silence. "Enough!" he said standing to his feet. "We can't just start pointing fingers at them without proof. We don't even have real evidence that sorcery is even at work here. Let's not forget that Merlin is Albion's ambassador and Sirs Galahad and Kay are guests here. We are within a truce and it is still fragile. We can't just accuse them of doing wrong as soon as something does go wrong. The last thing we want is to start a war when we didn't need to."

Arthur may still have hard feelings towards magic, Albion and even Merlin but he was not going to be unfair. He couldn't just let fingers be pointed at them even if magic was suspect. He had to handle this like any incident before looking to appoint blame and find out exactly what happened first.

Sir Ferris stepped forward. "Sire, then what do we do?"

"What we always do in these situations. Investigate." He turned to Gwaine. "Gwaine." He turned to Percival. "Percival." He then turned to Tristan. "and Tristan. Would you three be willing to lead some men to the northern borders and see what you could find out?"

Gwaine answered first. "Of course sire. I'd be happy to go."

"I will go sire." said Percival with a nod.

Tristan nodded himself and stepped forward. "You can count on me Arthur."

"You should leave immediately. Those people will need to have their supplies to become secure again as soon as possible. They've lost enough already."

Eli tried to step forward and started to open his mouth but Gaius held out his arm and moved him back. Eli looked up at him to see Gaius shake his head as he held him back. "No," he whispered.

"This meeting is done." said Arthur dismissing them.

The room dispersed and Gaius took Eli with him and headed for their chambers. When they were far enough, Eli held his hands out in protest.

"Why did you do that Gaius? I was going to tell Arthur that they could ask one of the Albion growers to go to those farmlands and help them regrow their grain to full size within three weeks."

"Yes, well Eli I'm sorry to say that your suggestion wouldn't have been taken well. You saw how everyone reacted with just the fact that magic could be responsible for this. They wouldn't have taken well to asking magic for help on top of it."

"That's stupid." Eli said folding his arms. "Those people might starve if they don't get their food back in time."

"Let's just hope that doesn't happen." As they walked on Gaius almost smiled. Eli just reminded him of Merlin when he first arrived. So quick to use everything that they had to help people without a second thought.

Things may be different now...but in a sense, they were almost the same. He just hoped nothing else would arise to complicate things further.

* * *

A Camelot patrol was riding through the eastern border forests when they caught sight of some smoke. The knight leading them dropped off from his horse and went to investigate. He told his men to stay behind while he went to see what it was. He went through the brush and the sight of a druid camp came into sight. He took out a map and marked the spot and headed back to his patrol. He had to head back to the city and inform the king of more magic users for the ambassador Merlin to help relocate to Albion.

* * *

**End of Chapter 1**

A/N: I hope you loved the start of this story. If you have any questions or comments than please feel free to review. I love it when people point out things and have questions. I personally can't wait to see more of Series 5.


	2. Special Training

**Dangers in the Path to Destiny**

A/N: I'm happy that there was a lot of hits to my new story so quickly. That's a good omen and I hope to see more of it.

Chapter 2: Special Training

The afternoon sun shined brightly into the shared room as Merlin got up from his nap and stretched himself out. Galahad was sharpening his sword while Kay was changing behind a screen. When he stood to stretch the two of them smiled at him.

"Nice nap?," asked Kay.

Merlin let out a laugh as he finished his stretch. "It was okay. Did you guys rest at all?"

"I did...but Galahad here has been up the entire time."

They had been traveling all night in order to get back to Camelot and Galahad seemed awake the entire time. Also, out of the three of them, he was always the one that was the first to wake up and seemed the last one to go to bed. "Don't you sleep Galahad?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't really need a lot of sleep. A few hours a day is all I really need." He held his sword up to the light. "We gonna train today?"

"Yes," he said going to fetch his training clothes and heading for the changing screen. "I want to practice my speed today. In the air."

Galahad stopped sharpening. "Merlin...are you sure you're ready for that? You may have come far in one year but it's still dangerous."

"I'm ready. I'm ready to move onto the next step. I want to challenge myself now. I want to see if I can focus under pressure."

Galahad shared a cringing look with Kay. "Maybe it might be better to wait a few more weeks before you try that. Focus on increasing your time before you add stress to your focus."

"Is it training or not?" said Merlin.

"Well...yes." answered Kay.

"So let me train. At least let me see for myself where I still need work. You can't really now unless you try, right?"

Galahad just exhaled, hard enough for Merlin to hear him from where he was. "You...have a good point. Fine. At least, you have us to control the intensity and help out if you run into trouble. Last thing I want is for you to just shrug and try it on your own." Galahad spoke from personal experience. He looked at his mystical blade for a split second as the memory played out in his mind for that moment before he returned back.

Merlin nodded even though they couldn't see him. "Kay, would you mind helping me with it?"

"Sure...as long as you set up the dummies for me to knock them back down," he said with a smirk.

Merlin shook his head in amusement as he slipped his shirt over his head. "Nice balance there Kay." He put it in a laundry basket. "Galahad? What are you going to be working on today?"

"I was going to spar today. Brought some Training Puppets from Albion to practice with."

Merlin looked at him from the screen. "You know, you could ask if one of the knights would spar with you," he suggested. "As opposed to Kay, I'm sure at least one wouldn't mind as you don't present the _scary_ possibility for them to be up against magic." he said exaggerating on the scary bit. He meant it to be funny but Galahad wasn't in the laughing mood.

He just shrugged it off. "No...if they think they're too good to spar with Kay then I obviously am not good enough to spar with them either. They want to stick to their level than I'll stick to ones on my level as well."

* * *

Gwaine, Tristan and Percival were in the courtyard, readying their horses and heading out of the city with a dozen men following them. They started their journey to the northern borders to investigate who or what was the cause of the people's distress there. The suspicion that magic was involved in these strange events weighed heavily on their minds. They remembered that the second that the suggestion was made, the court went into a feeding frenzy and the first ones that they wanted to feast on were Merlin, Galahad and Kay.

For Gwaine, Tristan, Percival, Elyan and Leon, as they were the knights who had been in Albion last year among so many magic users, their reactions were more tolerant than everyone else in the castle. While they were still a bit uncomfortable about the magic they used and had access to, they still couldn't forget the hospitality that they were shown even as enemies. The least they can do is return that hospitality now that they were in a truce. Not that there was any real effort to do so as their guests were likeable enough...for them.

Galahad was perhaps the easiest for everyone to accept as he didn't have magic at all. He wielded a magical weapon but that was as far as it went. Personally, he was a calm presence that hardly raised his voice though he look quite intimidating whenever someone openly said something insulting to or about Kay and Merlin within his earshot. For the knights, he was able to speak civil with though they only shared very light conversation. The only ones that he really spoke more in depth with were Leon and Elyan.

Kay...he was another story. He was an actual sorcerer and didn't have any shame in it. As someone who never had to hide his magic he didn't have any reservations in using it. When he was training, the fact that there were people watching him with scowls or nervousness didn't affect him in the least. Whenever something rude was said within his earshot, his reaction was different than Galahad's. He would make his eyes glow gold and would politely ask them to get to the point though you couldn't miss the threatening innuendo in his tone. To the knights he was civil enough though the only one he feels comfortable in speaking with was Gwaine. Gwaine also seemed to be the only one who seemed to like him personally.

Finally there was Merlin. Like Kay, Merlin was often addressed as sorcerer by some of the ruder and braver members of court though, unlike Kay, he would just respond 'Warlock' before letting them continue. It was ironic that as the more powerful magic user to Kay, he was the recepient of stronger slander. Many of the knights often thought it was because of his previous status as a servant and they could still speak down to him. Though every time something was said on him they, and even a few times Arthur, would cough loudly to try to get it to stop though it wasn't long term effective. Merlin still spoke to them all the same way and they spoke to him practically the same way in return. He was still Merlin...only with the power to move mountains at his fingertips now (not literally, maybe).

Now three of them were fully suited up and climbing on their horses.

"You three heading out?" They looked to the left to see the owner of the voice..

Merlin had came to them before they left and seen them off. Galahad and Kay were behind him in their armor. They hadn't been told of what was happening at the northern border and Arthur, at the urging of most of the court, had asked that they be kept in the dark about it for now

"Yes," said Percival. "It's just a standard patrol."

Merlin raised his brows in concern. "Something wrong?"

Gwaine shrugged at them with drunken smile. "Just some trouble makers, probably. You know, the usual."

"Where are you going?" asked Merlin as he saw the men they were taking with him.

"Oh, just north." he said not batting an eye. He looked to each of them. "You three heading somewhere?"

"Oh...we're going to do some training. Special...training."

"Right," Gwaine said getting the point immediately.

"We better go," said Tristan. "The men are all ready."

"Yeah, sorry Merlin. We have to go."

"Okay, be careful out there."

Gwaine let out a chuckle. "You know us."

"Which is why I said it." This made Kay cough to cover a laugh while Galahad gave them a small grin.

As they left the gates of the city, Tristan looked back at the castle before looking to them. "I don't understand why they have to be kept in the dark about this investigation. It's obvious that they aren't responsible. They're better than that."

Gwaine blew up at his hair. "I know. But, magic might be involved and that makes them suspects. At least to the court's eyes they are. Considering that we just lied to _Merlin_, I can see why they don't trust us."

"We didn't lie to him exactly, just didn't tell him the whole truth...not that that's any better," he said at the look on Gwaine and Percival's faces. "Anyway, the court just want to blame someone and they're the nearest targets. You think they would remember that it was that attitude that almost got us all killed last year. Besides...it could just be some magical beast or beasts doing this that escaped Gaius' knowledge."

"Personally," said Percival "I wouldn't mind having someone like Merlin with us to help if that was the case. I mean...have you seen what he, and even Kay, do on that field?"

* * *

The training grounds had the knights all over them with the clangs of metal ringing surrounding them. They whacked at wooden dummies and at each other with swords, maces, spears and any other weapons that they had lying around. Arthur came out into the grounds to for his own training and saw that his knights were more clustered together than usual. The training field was huge but everyone seemed to be trying to stay far away from a certain section as possible.

He went to Leon who was watching not too far away. "Leon."

"Arthur." he acknowledged before turning back to watching the other action far off.

"Everyone is clustered over here which tells me that our three magical guests are training as well." It was like this almost all the time. Whenever Merlin, Kay or Galahad were on the training field working on their training, the knights tried to nudge themselves as far as possible. Also, they were more intense in their training. Almost like the knights didn't want to have any of their focus wondering because if they did then they would be gazing at what they wanted to ignore. He was surprised that they hadn't had more accidents that way.

"Yes...they're right there. They don't seem to be complaining. I'm guessing that they're enjoying all the elbow room the men are giving them."

Arthur stepped forward to get a closer look though he wasn't the only one. Some of the servants were looking both nervously and anxiously out the windows facing the training grounds while passerbys were staying rooted to their spots longer than they should to see them.

Galahad was surrounded by what, at first, looked like four men trying to take swipes at him. However, if you looked close enough you would see that they were just four man sized dolls with wooden swords. He parried every blow that came at him with one of the swords he borrowed from Camelot's armory. His magical sword was still hanging at his waist but he didn't draw it as he faced these odds. The crowd who focused on him secretly thought he was quite impressive to fend off four men...dolls at once.

Yet, the majority of the stares weren't on Galahad. Further ahead you could see Kay. He was blasting dummies that were popping up from the ground with strong bursts of air from his palms. One by one, he shot the dummies as soon as they broke up from the ground showing off his quick reflexes. One popped up right behind him and he spun and made a strong burst of wind that collided with the dummy and it blew apart. Then two dummies popped up, one to his left and one to his right at the same time. He extended his arms out and gusts erupted from his fists and blew both of them back where they hit the ground with a whack.

However, even that didn't have most of the attention. Most of them were looking straight up at the main attraction. Above Kay about 30 feet, controlling the flow of the dummies, was Merlin flying up high. He was wearing his old servants clothes and his neckerchief was flapping in the air along with his hair. He resembled the image that everyone had been accustomed to...except for his current activity. His eyes were a solid gold as he both flew and controlled the dummies for Kay's training. He easily made the dummies that he buried earlier appear at will and after Kay blasted them, he repaired them with a thought and reburied them for them to emerge again. Merlin was quite impressed with Kay's reflexes and his control and force of the gusts he instinctively conjured. Kay said that his area of expertise was conjuring wind gusts on instinct without using spells to do so. Air was the element that he was closest to. Most other magic was out of his league which he wasn't afraid to admit though he often said that he was happy with the magic that he was good with.

After about twenty minutes of it, Kay called for enough. "Not bad Merlin. Thanks for the practice."

He lowered himself a little bit so he was less than ten feet above him. "Glad you enjoyed it. Now how about you help with my training now?"

Kay put both of his arms behind his back and made a show of thinking. "Err...if you say so." He then grew fierce and brought out his arm for a punch.

Merlin saw it coming and flew off to the right to avoid the blast of air that erupted from his fist. He climbed higher as more gusts of wind were coming after him. Merlin darted, climbed, dropped and dashed as wave upon wave of attack came at him. He resembled a man sized bird zipping wildly in the air.

As he flew around, Arthur watched him with strong intensity. There was something about how Merlin was looked whenever he did magic that Arthur couldn't really place. The look in his eyes, how he held himself, even in how he spoke; he seemed to be so strong. It was as if the goofy manservant he knew would completely melt away and be replaced by this strong commanding force. Even as he talked about magic or after he'd done some...he seemed so...sure of everything. At times, Arthur found himself to be almost a little jealous. Not only that but Merlin also seemed happier lately. Not that he smiled or laughed more than he did...but Arthur could somehow sense that Merlin was happier, like right now. He may be training and focused with no trace of even a grin on but, somehow, he knew Merlin was happy.

Leon's eyes darted about following his every move in the sky. "Merlin sure is living up to his name, isn't he?"

"What?"

"Merlin. You know...a Merlin." He was referring to the bird which his name came from.

"Right," Arthur said somberly looking at Leon for a moment before returning his gaze back up. "He's not just a bird brain in name only now."

Leon rolled his eyes but Arthur didn't see it. "Still...he seems to be tapping into his powers quite well. I'd seen a lot of sorcerers do magic before but nothing like this. None have ever flown like birds before."

"What are you talking about? We saw Connor fly back in Albion."

"Yes...but still, it wasn't like this. From what Galahad has told me, we never got to see him use it in battle before. He said that it's quite a sight to see a flying magician in action. If it's like what we're seeing now then I could understand what he must mean."

At the mention of the non magical warrior of magic, they turned to see him beheading one of the dummies and reducing it to dust.

"Really? He told you about magic? What else does Galahad say about it?"

He shrugged. "Not much. He doesn't really go into much detail of the actual magics. The only things he ever tells me of it is on the people. Connor, Kay, Kalen, Flint and a bunch of others he's known and met. I can see that he's been through alot." Leon then breathed heavily and looked down. "Makes me realize how much we've drifted apart after all these years."

Arthur looked up at the wingless Merlin. He felt numb in his stomach. "I think I know what you mean."

Galahad whacked the last dummy's hand up to make it lose its sword and he then decapitated it as it stumbled back. He saw Kay trying to hit Merlin but was missing with each blow though he could see that Kay wasn't really trying as hard as he could. Obviously, he was wary of hitting Merlin and then making him lose focus and fall. He saw how Merlin was handling himself up there with an enthusiastic smile and giddiness. It was then that Galahad was confident in his next decision.

"Merlin, keep your focus," Galahad mumbled. He discarded the borrowed sword and drew his own dubbed "Gale of Justice" and aimed. "_**Taro**._" A strike of wind erupted from it and cut Merlin off nearly at the neck when he darted to avoid one of Kay's attacks.

"Galahad!" Kay shouted.

"Kay," he said cutting him off. "Stop prancing around and hit him already."

"But he's"

"He says that he's ready. If he isn't...then he isn't."

He caught sight of Galahad's steel hard gaze and then nodded. "Right."

Merlin's brow was starting to be drenched in sweat. Both Galahad and Kay were now launching attacks at him to avoid in the air. Not only that, but Kay's attacks were much more closer to the mark and intense than before.

As Merlin was now starting to have a harder time, Arthur was ready to explode. He drew his sword and headed for Galahad and Kay. "What are you doing?"

"Training," Galahad said not showing the least bit of reaction to Arthur and sending another blast of wind at Merlin.

"Last time I checked, ganging up on someone isn't training."

"Stay out of this Arthur, you have your training and we have ours," said Kay before sending another strike up at Merlin and nearly grazed his leg.

"Well, this is my training field and I say that's enough."

"Really?" asked Galahad. "This may be your field but this is Merlin's training. He's the one with the right to call it off but I don't hear him telling us to stop. Do you?" He pointed up to Merlin who was still flying around, virtually undisturbed by the added attacker in his training. "Don't humiliate him by doing this."

Arthur looked from them to Merlin wondering what he should do. It was true. This really wasn't any of his business. He felt a hand grasp his shoulder and he saw it was Leon. "Arthur," he simply said.

Arthur eased himself and re-sheathed his sword. He backed away and let them continue. Galahad and Kay kept firing their attacks and Merlin still kept dodging them. However, he was starting to get slower and he started to only move when he had too. He stopped flying around above them as before as the sweat on his brow became heavier. His breathing started to become labor and his height started to drop. Merlin thought that this was starting to get too hard now. Before, he felt like laughing as Kay and then Galahad started trying to hit him together. It was almost like a game that he and Will had played as kids when they tried to get each other by flinging pebbles at one another. Yet...when their attacks started getting more accurate, it stopped being funny. He almost lost focus and nearly dropped himself all the way down before he remembered to focus.

At least until Galahad managed to hit his arm slightly and then he started to drop like a rock to the ground. Merlin started screaming and couldn't find it in him to focus dropping so quickly. He thought he would feel the impact until he was pushed slightly up before landing gently, well a lot less harshly, on the ground. Kay had conjured a blast of wind that greatly broke his fall. Arthur and Leon's breathing eased from how it sped seeing Merlin fall like that.

Galahad re-sheathed his sword and Kay straightened himself up and they both headed for Merlin.

"Merlin," Kay said as he bent down to him. "You okay?"

Merlin slowly opened his eyes and caught sight of Kay's face and Galahad standing behind him. He tried to raise himself and he immediately fell back on his back. His arm was sore, his breathing was labored, and his body felt like lead. "What?"

"Welcome to training life," Galahad said setting himself down on one knee. "Aches and Pains being the solid proof that you still have work to do. Considering the amount of it you're feeling...you have loads of it," he said sharing a look with Kay.

Both Kay and Galahad reached behind Merlin's back and lifted him to his feet and he cringed when the bottom of his feet met solid ground to support his dead like weight. Arthur walked up to them.

"What was that all about?" he asked looking torn between showing concern and anger.

Kay put on of Merlin's arms around his own neck. "You train. Surely you know."

"I know that training doesn't mean you gang up on people. Training to me means one on one. A fair fight."

Galahad put Merlin's other arm around his neck. "Unfortunately...fights don't mean that for everyone. Better he gets that now when we can catch him then later when no one is there to stop his fall."

"Still you could've warned him..."

"No Arthur," Merlin said looking up at him.

"No? Merlin, you were surprised and outnumbered out there. You could've broken your neck because of it."

"As opposed to when you and your knights are striking at each other and could cut through one another?"

Arthur closed his eyes and breathed in. He then opened them and saw Merlin staring wearingly at him but intense. "That's different."

"No Arthur. I've always stood back and let you train your way...now stay back, and let me train my way." He looked to Galahad. "Get me back to the room. I'm missing my bed right now."

They took off leaving Arthur and a few others looking after them. That was the first time in months that the two of them argued about anything other than political business. Unlike all the times before in the days he knew about Merlin's real power...for the first time, Merlin got Arthur to shut up.

* * *

**End of Chapter 2**

A/N: Love the responses to the new story and the strong surge of hits. I know a lot of you will ask why Galahad went completely brutal on Merlin. It won't be explained in my story so I thought I would explain it here. Merlin has recently "come out" though not in the sense you all with dirty minds are thinking. He is reveling in his new found freedom. With this branch of exciting and beautiful magic, and add in the fact that he can do it openly in Camelot, he would be in danger of letting it go to his head. Despite what he's learned and been through in his life, he can once in a while throw caution to the wind. It's like when you grow up and go on your first real trip on your own. You know that you have to be safe and careful but you still let the freedom get to you somewhat. Galahad saw that in Merlin as he was training with flying and while it is exciting, he knows it is also dangerous. He's trained many of the people in the Order of the Bear, both magical and non, in not just fighting but discipline as well. As for flying, he also has seen what can happen if you're not careful. He sees that Merlin needs to get that and quick so he went hard. Tough love and we've seen some trainers and coaches go with that approach but they do it to make the players better, not to hurt them.

The next chapter will have a look at what's brewing in the northern borders of the kingdom and a sneak peek at the what exactly is coming. Please Review.


	3. Trouble Brews North

**Dangers in the Path to Destiny**

A/N: Now for a first glimpse on the evil coming for them...this time.

Chapter 3: Trouble Brews North

Percival ducked his head as a low branch came into his field of vision. Tristan looked back at all the men behind them as they kept riding on. It had been over two days since they left Camelot and they were closing in on the area that was in crisis. Thankfully, they didn't encounter any trouble but they didn't relax their nerves. They've been through enough of these escapades to know that they shouldn't rest easy until they were back at home. Especially if it is true and magic might be responsible. Though, there hasn't really been any problems of magic seen for a year. At least with actual magic but there were problems because of it.

When the truce was declared, Arthur kept his promise and called off the bounties for the capture of magic users. There wasn't much reaction to that from the other kingdoms. The other rulers in the land all had different reactions to the more shocking news of a truce that Camelot had made with a city of magic users. Camelot's allies seemed to be surprised that Arthur would make such a truce and they decided to call of their hunts as well. Queen Annis, King Olaf and Lord Godwyn had come to meet with Arthur personally on the news of Albion and he explained with great detail of the details of their truce as well as introduced the new ambassador and his entourage. Merlin, Galahad and Kay didn't say anything to them and merely stayed in the background after they were introduced and oversaw the meeting. It was a truly lengthy debate where many concerns were repeated by the royals more than once. At the end, the three rulers decided to follow Arthur and agreed to hand over any magic users that they spot over to Camelot so that they could be delivered to Albion. Though, so far they haven't had any come forward or be found. Privately, Kay and Galahad weren't surprised by this though they kept it to themselves..

Yet that was only the good news in all of this. King Alined was one of the kings who was furious with the change. He claimed that Arthur couldn't just change something like that so quickly when it was a focus point in the treaties and alliances that were forged by his father. As a result, he dropped out of the treaty that was set up as he claimed that Camelot had broken it and he was under no obligation to stay after that. King Bayard also dropped from his treaty with Camelot as well. Claimed that his kingdom lost much to help in the pursuit of Uther's dream of a land free from magic and now it had been for nothing. There were no public reactions from King Lot or Lord Odin but they weren't truly allies with Camelot so they were beyond their control. However, despite all of this, there was nothing happening beyond that from any of them.

But that wasn't the issue for right now. Right now, the problem is missing supplies of crops and cattle. The knights soon caught sight of some thin white smoke in the distance which told them that they were close.

"Do you think we should expect any trouble as soon as we get there?" asked Percival.

Tristan shook his head. "I don't think so. Arthur did tell that man that we were coming so I'm sure that they're expecting us."

"It's too bad," said Gwaine. "It's been too quiet recently. I mean," he said quickly. "peace is good don't get me wrong but it wears thin after a while. I'd love to have a real fight now and then."

"You're mad Gwaine," said Tristan.

"These days...who isn't. At least I'm not dangerously mad."

"Remains to be seen really."

"Some like my madness you know."

"No," said Percival. "Some put up with it," he said as if he were correcting a child's mistake which only made Gwaine chuckle. He turned back to look at the smoke. "We're close."

They came upon a small village where the people looked a little jumpy. Every time that the knights looked at any of them they would look down or walk a little faster if it was away from them. They were soon approached by the same man who had appeared in court.

"Sires...you've come."

Gwaine looked about before looking at the man again. "Where's your headman?"

"This way." The man took them to a well built looking shack while some of the villagers took their horses away. The three knights saw a well built looking man waiting for them. "Jagan, Sirs Gwaine, Percival and Tristan," he said pointing to the respective one. "The king sent them to solve the mystery thefts and help us."

"Knights? Why are they here?"

"Err...I went to Camelot and told them of the strange thefts of our supplies."

"I thought we were to wait until we knew what was going on before we brought our case to the king Kenson. We didn't want to bother him until we knew exactly what to tell him."

"I know but...we've already lost nearly half our harvests and livestock. We were no closer to finidng an answer so I brought our case myself. They came to both help us and solve the mystery too."

The headman looked annoyed but nodded to the young man. "Sires." he said with a bow. "I'm Jagan. I'm the headman for the village."

"We're happy to help," Percival said with a small smile. "Don't worry, the King is concerned no matter how small the trouble may seem."

"Kenson," he said to the headman. "Why don't you show these men to the places were these thefts happen. I'll head off to the surrounding isolated homes that were robbed and let them know that Camelot has sent help earlier than we planned."

"Okay," he said before turning to them. "Come on."

They left the shack and Kenson brought them to the very first place that this all happened. It was a fenced pen where some pigs had been snatched though there was no damage done to the fence. They were also taken to a coop where the door and lock hadn't been broken or tampered with but more than half their chickens have still vanished from it. It was truly a mystery. As they looked, any people who were watching them work turned away or walked off whenever they caught the eyes of any of the knights or soldiers.

"Kenson?' Tristan said. "What's wrong with the people here? I understand that if they're all a little scared with these strange thefts but why are they worried about us. We are here to solve this."

"It's...it's nothing sires. I wouldn't worry about it." Kenson seemed a little scared now himself.

Percival stepped close to Kenson and gave him a hard stare. "If it's nothing, then you would tell us."

Kenson shrunk a bit away from Percival. "Well..."

"What is it?" asked Gwaine. "Is it about these thefts."

"No," he said a little quickly. "Maybe? Uh...well, rumor has reached us that it's suspected that magic might be responsible. I think that most are afraid that you might accuse one of them and have them sent off to that sorcerer place."

Gwaine chuckled as he found that idea a little funny. "Albion? They're worried we might cart them away to Albion?"

The three of them looked out to the villagers again and saw the worry again make them jump from their gaze. Tristan just shook his head. "We're not here to blame or accuse anyone. We're here to find out what's happening and fix it."

Gwaine shrugged off their nervous jumps. "Besides, we've been there. That place isn't so bad. I'm sure you would like it."

Kenson's eyes grew wide at that.

Percival slammed his hand down a little hard on Gwaine's shoulder. "Nice way to calm him Gwaine."

Tristan smiled at Kenson and hoped that it helped to reassure the nervous villager. "Don't worry. Inform your neighbors that we're not here to bring any trouble. We're here to help them out of their troubles. No one is this village has to be upset with our arrival."

* * *

"The Knights are in the area." Jagan was deep in the woods with some men. About 15. "They've been sent to investigate the mysterious thefts." Jagan seemed stressed now. "This is bad!"

One of the men cut off his irate banter. "Quiet. How did the knights respond so fast? You were supposed to stall that."

He took a step back at his tone. "I know but one of the villagers took it upon himself to report it to the king."

"Obviously, we overpaid you if you couldn't even do the job correctly."

"Enough." The men looked back to see a young man in a robe with light armor peeking out from underneath it. "That's enough. What's done is done."

"Lord Mordred." one of them started.

He stepped forward slowly to the assembled. "This will change nothing. Camelot's interference might be about three weeks ahead of schedule but the truth is that I'm past the trials anyway."

"What do you mean my lord?" asked another one of the men.

"The thefts were tests of stealth given to me by Angus. To see if I could work on subtle operations and provide food for the army and take from Camelot's at the same time. I think I've already passed it. Three weeks weren't really going to help me much more. We can still move on to the next step a little earlier than planned."

One of the men stepped up to Mordred and folded his arms and looked annoyed. "But what about the army? We don't have the full army amassed yet. Those three weeks were not just to let you train. We weren't halting everything for you. Don't think that everything about this revolves around you."

Mordred didn't react at all and just looked at him like he was just another tree in these woods. "If you have a problem...take it up with Mab."

The man didn't react at all to that. "Oh, I'll take it up with Mab. And both she and you can then take it up with King Vortigern." This time Mordred looked up and glared at him. "You might be Lady Mab, Lord Angus and Lady Nemain's new prodigal son but you still know nothing of leading. This time frame was to be used to ready our forces. Your training was just conveniently in the window. Despite your title, leave the decisions and plans to those who actually give the orders here. Vortigern left me in charge of the looting operation, you were just the tool to use. Don't overestimate your importance." He turned to Jagan. "And you,"

He didn't finish as a sword was then sticking out of his chest. He spat some blood before he fell to the floor in as a fresh corpse. Mordred cleaned his sword on the corpse's robe. "Fool...if you were as important as _you_ thought then Vortigern would've told you that army was going be ready in three days rather than three weeks. The delay really was for my benefit." He re-sheathed his sword and looked to Jagan. He took a small pouch from the corpse and threw it to him. "There's your final payment. Take my advice Jagan, Leave Now. The knights will point everything to you once they reach this port town and you won't be able to enjoy your money. I know Vortigern may tolerate surprises but he won't tolerate wasted money."

"Okay," he said before hopping on his horse and taking off.

Mordred watched him leaving before turning to the other men. "Anything else that anyone wants to say to me?"

They shook their heads very quickly. "Lord Mordred," said one of them. "What now?"

He pointed to one of them. "You, inform the king about this. He should be happy that he won't have to wait so long now."

"Yes my lord," he said before he dashed for his own horse.

"As for the rest of us, we have to prepare for the knights. They are sure to head up here to investigate further. When they come, we'll begin the next part of the campaign." They nodded and put on helmets that had small little horns coming out of the sides.

Mordred smiled to himself at the image of a man who he was happy to call a king. His king. After he had escaped after the failed attempt in causing a full blown war with Camelot and Albion, he was lost and alone. Then...he ran into four people who were happy to help him. Three fellow sorcerers who were proud of the power they wield and were happy to bring out his potential. The three of them also had others of magic on their side as well as a truly powerful ally of their own in their corner. The fourth person was that ally...the then Prince Vortigern Tregor. They had been quietly moving south to Albion but it wasn't for sanctuary. It turns out that they were enemies of the Order of the Bear and the Albions themselves and were off to attempt something similar to Alvarr and his plan. When he informed them of the recent developments, they took him under their wing and headed north. They sailed off and went into the Norseland for one of Vortigern's cousin's kingdom. After a few months, Vortigern was made king of that kingdom when his cousin died in a 'training accident.' He now had a ruthless viking army under his command.

Mordred had soon been given noble status by Vortigern, who apparently had grown fond of him. Also, so had the three sorcerers with him: Mab, Angus and Nemain. They took him under their wings after seeing the roots of his power and his untapped potential that many kept saying he had. They taught him so much and he was free to learn it under the king's supervision. He had no qualms with him or with magic whatsoever which was such a refreshing change. Mab, Angus and Nemain were truly powerful sorcerers and they were Vortigern's prime council. After a while, he asked Vortigern if he would help in his revenge on Camelot and he insisted that he was only too happy to help. However, he said that he wouldn't stop with just Camelot. The entire land of Briton would fall and be under his thrall. Then they would move on to Eire and reclaim the land of his father and finish his dream of obtaining the whole island. His new viking army he had jumped at the chance for a great battle in a new land. However, the five of them knew that for such an ambitious plan...they would need more than a couple dozen sorcerers and one army.

Mordred hoped that Vortigern was successful with his part. If there had to be a king of these lands then he and all those of magic that truly wanted freedom to be what they were meant to be would want it to be him.

* * *

Sitting on a very comfy throne and wearing a gleaming gold crown, Vortigern. He was in a large tent with three others in thrones with their personal entourages with them.

"So...do we have a deal?" he asked before taking a sip from his goblet held by a nearby servant.

King Alined smiled. "You have my support. All this peace has been very...unprofitable."

Vortigern chuckled. "With the conquest that I have in mind, you won't have to worry about your profits ever again."

Lord Odin nodded. "You have my support. I personally have been wanting to destroy Arthur Pendragon for years. He's been lucky for too long and its high time he finally pays for what he's done."

"Yes, of course." Vortigern knew of what happened between Arthur and Odin's son. "What of you Bayard?"

"I-I don't know. What if Arthur manages to join with Annis, Godwyn, and Olaf. Their combined armies could force ours back."

"I wouldn't worry about that," said Vortigern with a smirk. "We have a secret force that would tip the odds completely in our favor." He looked back at a pair of lovely and pretty women and a strong looking man. They had on cloaks with an image of a black rose with viney thorns spreading out from it that spread to the entire cloak making it look like they were wrapped by thorns. "They won't be able to competently fight against their resources. Not to mention that surprise is on our side. And more than one at that."

Bayard looked to the three sorcerers behind him. "Are you sure that you can defeat Arthur?"

Angus gave him a smirk. "Please...Camelot's army will be child's play. We have creatures that would easily overcome them and they have no hope of slaying them without magic. Annis, Godwyn and Olaf will also have Arthur's disadvantage. That along with your combined forces...they would be far better off just letting you all have dominion over their lands."

Bayard still didn't look very reassured. "And what about that magic city...Albion? Unlike the others they have magic on their side. What if they interfere? According to you, they're old enemies of yours."

Mab let out a small laugh. "I wouldn't worry about them either. We've met their leader and he's no match for the three of us. Also, we found a new member whose power could grow to rival ours. Connor's a fool that won't grasp power even when it's dangling in front of him. Besides, with our overwhelming force, Albion will be easily crushed."

"And they won't be interfering," said Vortigern. "It's not in their nature to help kings. They help swine that are similar to them instead. Besides...with how those four rulers are rounding up magic users in their lands and dumping them in their city, they won't be in any hurry to assist them. They would consider that a very strong insult."

"What more would you want Bayard?" asked Nemain. "Would you like them to be blind and missing an arm before you feel comfortable enough to try our plan?"

Everyone let a small laugh escape their lips at Nemain's jab. Bayard looked slightly humiliated before he shrunk back into his chair. "Very well," he said over their laughing. "You have my army behind you as well."

"Good," said Vortigern with a nod.

"Will Camelot's presence in the area affect the plans now?" asked Odin.

"Don't worry, I already have a new plan now. Have your armies ready to march into Camelot within a week. I will be marching south in a few days to take their full attention. Once we break through their line and take the city, you will overwhelm and break down their border defenses and strongholds. It should be easy with them distracted by us. After that, Arthur's force will be destroyed and we could move on to the others."

When those rulers left the tent, Mab, Nemain and Angus turned to Vortigern.

"What about taking back Eire?" asked Nemain. "They won't be interested in helping you reclaim it."

Vortigern shrugged his shoulders. "No, but...'accidents' tend to happen especially on battlefields." The three of them laughed at that. "There's no need to have more than one king in the future empire we will soon build. As for their armies...I imagine that they would easily submit to the command of one who took down the self proclaimed richest kingdom in these lands."

"We will assure that its you Vortigern," said Angus. "You don't have to worry about that."

"Oh, that's not what worry's me. What does is this...Emrys that Mordred told me about. His powers and his loyalty to Camelot. He could truly cause us problems."

"Don't worry," said Mab. "He's may be powerful but he is just only one man."

"One man with a dragon," corrected Vortigern.

"One dragon," said Angus. "Vortigern, my hippogriffs can handle him. So could Mab's gargoyles and Nemain's ogres. Not to mention our magical weapons can slay him. The two are a nuisance, not a problem."

"True," he said going over what he just said. "The only real problem will be the Order and the Celts when we move on to Eire. Briton will be a simple chore."

* * *

"What do you mean he's gone?" asked Tristan.

Kenson pointed to the headman's shack. "I mean he's gone. He hasn't returned to the village. It only takes half a day to ride to all the other homes and ranches around here who've suffered the robberies."

"It might be too soon to call him missing," said Gwaine holding his hand up to calm him. "He might be caught up with one or more of the owners and is explaining everything in detail."

Kenson did calm himself but still looked a little stressed. "It's just...with all of these mysterious thefts, things are a little scary right now and the last thing we need is for our headman missing on top of it."

"He'll show." Percival put an reassuring hand on his arm. "Right now, we still have work to do."

Gwaine yawned. "We've gone over all the places that had these thefts but so far, nothing."

Tristan put his right palm to his chin. "When exactly did these thefts start exactly?"

Kenson's eyes squinted as he thought back. "I-I think it was about two months ago. One of the ranchers a small ways from here lost four goats. Some of the other owners lost crops or other livestock and soon our village was struck."

"Was there anything new or strange happening or seen around that time?"

"No...I don't think so."

"That helps us a lot," said Gwaine sarcastically. "Is there any place to get a drink around here?"

Kenson shook his head. "No, you would have to go to the harbor town for that."

"Harbor town?" asked Tristan.

"It's a town that was built around the ports here in the north. The nearest pub is there."

"What do they have to add to these thefts?" he asked.

"Oh, they were lucky. They don't seem to have been touched."

Tristan eyes lit up. "They weren't hit?"

"No, Jagan rode to them and he said that they weren't suffering any robberies. He thinks that the thieves think that it's because the town too big and they would be caught."

"That's something." said Tristan.

Gwaine looked lost. "How?"

"Everything around them gets robbed by a stealthy bandit or bandits which shows they know how to stay hidden. But a rich port town doesn't suffer robberies themselves? That sounds fishy."

Gwaine smiled. "Nice phrase to use there Tristan."

Percival straightened himself up. "Let's ride out then."

* * *

Back in Camelot, a patrol rode back into the city. They rode into the citadel and headed for Arthur's throne room where Arthur and his knights were waiting for them.

"My king," one of them said with a bow.

"Sir Edward." he said with a nod. "What have you to report from the east?"

"All is quiet there though we found that Odin has increased his patrols at his borders."

"Should we worry about that Arthur?" asked Leon. Odin's hatred of Arthur was infamous.

"We have to be cautious but it should stay at that. The last thing we want is to push Odin to formally declare war. What is between Odin and I is a personal matter. It isn't something we should bring our people into." He turned to the knight of the patrol. "Thank you for your report."

"Sire, there was one final thing that I have found. On the way back to the city, my patrol found a camp. It was a druid camp." He brought out a map with an X on it. "I've marked their position on this."

Arthur took it. "Thank you again Edward."

He bowed and left while Arthur went to sit on his throne. "Elyan," he said turning to his brother in law. "Could you go to Merlin, Kay and Galahad and tell them that I need to see them."

"Of course. I'm sure they're in their room."

"The rest of you can please leave me. This is business that I must discuss with them without you."

The knights filed out of the throne room. Whenever talk would come about taking sorcerers off their land to Albion, the only people Arthur would have with him were his queen, the knights who were with him at Albion and Gaius the physician. The party of Albion claimed that they were the only ones that they felt comfortable dicussing it with especially when some foul comments and sounds had erupted from the court when it first started.

"I personally don't see why they have to be so formal about it all the time," said one of the knights to another as they went down the corridor. "Just tell them where the sorcerers that are found are and then tell them to get them out and into that city of theirs."

"Apparently, Arthur wants to show them some respect." said the other. "Granted, they are quite...talented but they still seem simpleminded to me. It seems magic is all they know and live for."

"I know...I mean, right now they are probably brewing up some ridiculous magical potion or reading up on some spell whatnot."

* * *

Galahad was stitching up a few tears that Merlin's clothes had taken as a result of their training. Kay was cleaning up after their lunch and wiping down their eating table. Merlin was over a water bucket washing their clothes. They had no servants to do so and they refused Arthur and Gwen's offer for some. They could tell that their possessions, however innocent, would make the servants scared out of their minds to so much as touch. So those duties fell to them but they didn't mind at all.

"It's not as bad as I thought," Galahad said looking over Merlin's clothes. "I thought we would've done more damage. You've come far in just one year Merlin."

"Thanks," he said running a shirt down into the water bucket. "You're quite good yourself. I haven't seen many who can handle being outnumbered like that."

"Practice makes perfect," Galahad said as he ran the thread and needle through another hole.

"And sadly, not all of those times were practice," said Kay cleaning some crumbs off a platter. "were they Galahad?"

"Maybe sad for you but I can handle them fine."

Kay smiled with a little laugh before he picked up a goblet to clean.

There was a knock on the door just then.

"Come in," shouted Merlin.

It was Elyan.

* * *

**End of Chapter 3**

A/N: Well, there's a first look at the approaching danger. The new villian King Vortigern has appeared. More will be revealed about him soon as well as Mordred's new trainers: Mab, Nemain and Angus. To answer the question that I know I will be asked, it was the four of them that found Mordred alone in the woods in my last story. Review me with your questions, comments. I love hearing them.


	4. Treaties

**Dangers in the Path to Destiny**

A/N: I've been liking how series 5 has been shaping up and can't wait to see more of it. This first scene I had thought of including in the last chapter but I thought that it didn't end it in the way I wanted but I thought it was a good way to begin this one.

Chapter 4: Treaties

"Merlin," Elyan said as he stepped in and closed the door behind him.

"Elyan," Merlin said dropping the shirt he was washing. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, Arthur just wants to see you, Galahad and Kay in the throne room. A new report of some sorcerers found in the land and he needs you to come in."

Merlin gave him a nod. "Oh, tell him that we'll be there. We just have to change first."

"Of course. We'll be waiting."

Elyan left them to get themselves ready. Merlin went to the blue garments that he got from Albion when he was made the official ambassador. Though he made sure he wore his red neckerchief whenever he wore it to these things.

"It's a good thing I just polished these," Kay said as he helped Galahad put on his armor.

"Good foresight on you. You sure you aren't developing a seer's sight?"

Kay rolled his eyes. "Don't try and sound smart, it's not funny." Kay said as he slapped the last piece onto him.

"You mean like you do most of the time?"

"Ha. How many do you think they found Merlin? Elyan said that they found some sorcerers so that means they expect us to uproot more than one."

"I don't know," he said checking himself in the mirror. "Maybe 3 or 4? We've never found more than a single one after all these months."

"We know," said Galahad as he turned to start helping Kay with his armor now. "That's why we haven't had any problems. Let's hope we still don't but this may be a problem with more than one."

Merlin stopped straightening himself out. "You mean because they might be hostile?"

"No," said Kay as Galahad snapped his top breastplate. "Hostile we can handle. It's peaceful that's going to be the problem."

Merlin breathed in rather harshly. So far, they've met sorcerers that were happy to go to Albion and try to feel...normal there. However, that was because they were alone and/or clueless about their gifts. Merlin played well at denial and being clueless to Galahad and Kay but deep down he knew that there are people, magic or not, that wouldn't want to leave their homes no matter what. That's the reason why Connor worked hard to get the village near Albion under their control during the treaty negotiations a year ago. He confided in Merlin about how that village was their home and he didn't want to rip them from it when they didn't have to. Merlin didn't want to do that either. He wouldn't be able to tear someone unwilling to leave their family and friends if they weren't a danger and didn't want to go.

"Well...we don't know what it is yet so let's go. Arthur is probably losing patience with us."

"Yeah," said Kay as Galahad finished helping him. "As your pal Gwaine says, let's not keep the Queen waiting and I don't mean Guineviere."

Merlin smiled at the thought of his unconventional friend. He wondered how he was doing now.

* * *

Over a dozen horses rode hard through the trail into the woods heading for the town on their map. The earth was harder than normal with the dropping temperatures and the hooves of their horses made loud thumping sounds. Those thumps echoed in the surrounding area which brought attention to the men hiding in the brushes. A pair of pale blue eyes glared as the red cloaks of the knights rode past heading for the town.

* * *

Merlin, Galahad and Kay stepped into the room where Arthur and Gwen were waiting for them by a table with a map laid out. Leon and Elyan were there as well and Gaius was sitting next to them with his new apprentice Eli standing behind him. When he caught sight of them, Eli gave them a smile though he was the only one that did. Everyone else had looks of seriousness painted on them.

"You made it," said Arthur with a hint of sarcasm.

"We were busy," said Merlin moving to sit at the end of the table opposite from him. Galahad and Kay standing on either side of him. "And we had to get ready. Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Well, now that you're done painting your nails we can get back to the business at hand." Arthur turned a map around and moved it toward them. "It seems we found some more for you. A patrol on the eastern borders found a group on their way back to the city. Sir Edward marked their position on this map for you."

Merlin took the map and saw that they were about over two days ride from Camelot. And it would be around a six day trip heading to Albion from there also. "How many are there?"

"All Edward told me were that it was a druid camp. He didn't tell me the size of it or how many he saw. I guess you'll find that out when you head out."

"I guess I will," Merlin said as he folded the map up.

As Merlin started to get up, he was suddenly stopped by having a hand push down on both of his shoulders. He looked up and saw both Galahad and Kay looking at Arthur with a stone like gaze.

"I'm sorry Arthur, but we can't do that." said Galahad.

Arthur looked a little surprised at his statement. "What do you mean? That was our agreement."

"Yes, that was our treaty...however you aren't the only treaty we are in."

Gwen straightened in her chair. "You mean you have a treaty...with the druids as well?"

Kay nodded. "We do. Well...with most of them. It's an agreement that while we do offer help to them whether it's supplies or aid when they call, we have no dominion over their lives."

Merlin looked up at him. "Dominion? What do you mean that?" Merlin's spine was going cold. He had a feeling that this was what he was afraid of and what Galahad and Kay were talking about for the last few days.

"Essentially, we can't tell them how to live their lives. We had an issue come between us over ten years ago when we were still fighting on Eire. We came to them and tried to call them into arms with us and a good many of them did. However, the majority of them that didn't thought we were stepping out of line in trying to change their ways like that. We didn't want to lose the respect and harmony between us so we drafted this treaty saying we wouldn't do that again."

"Connor has a lot of respect for the druids," Galahad said taking over for him. "They took him, his father and all the others with them in when they escaped from Uther and the patrols sent after them. They are the ones who first helped him with his beast taming abilities and he's never forgotten that. He's not going to have that put at risk by forcing them away from where they made their home."

"I can understand that," said Arthur when he was done. "Yet we still had an agreement of our own." He pointed at Merlin. "Can't you simply tell them about the circumstances and take them in? They are magic like you, right? They'll listen to you."

Merlin looked to Arthur with a look that he hadn't seen from his old servant in months. He looked annoyed at him. "Arthur," he said slowly. "It's not that simple. Just because someone has magic doesn't mean that I or Connor have immediate authority over them. It doesn't work that way. The Druids have always kept to themselves. If Albion has a treaty saying that they can't do this then they can't. You must understand that."

"I do..." he said. Arthur knew how treaties worked, he'd known how they did all his life. And if Albion was in a better relations with the Druids over Camelot, they would put more priority over that treaty then theirs. "But there is still the law to understand Merlin. They can't stay there. They have to go someplace else and you can take them to Albion where they can stay within the law."

"We can take them," said Kay. "But we can't and won't keep them there if they don't wish it."

The air in the room got tenser after Kay finished. He had said that it a cold tone of finality and Arthur was now looking at him stone faced.

"Excuse me?"

"I said that we can't and won't keep them within Albion if they don't want to stay there."

"I know that you must not like it but our treaty says-"

Galahad stepped up. "Says that we are to take any who are discovered with magic that are not threatening your lands will be sent to us." he quoted. "However, never does it say that we are to keep any of them there against their will. We've never done that before we made this arrangement and we never will." His words got harder as he kept speaking and now he was almost shouting. "The Druids exist in another community altogether and I'll tell you now that they aren't the only ones. You treated with our community but that doesn't mean that it applies to everyone else."

Gwen put out a hand to stop him. "Galahad, calm down. Arthur didn't mean anything by it. He is just trying to do what's right for these people. He believes that its cruel to do this but it would be crueler to leave them in places where they can't be themselves."

"Gwen, I know that is what he thinks that he believes."

"It is," Arthur said rushing to the aid of his wife. "I'm only trying to believe what I think is right."

"Then prove it," said Merlin drawing everyone's eyes to him. Merlin slowly stood from his chair but kept his eyes firmly on him. He had enough of this. He may not be constantly by Arthur anymore but he could still tell what he was feeling. He knew that Arthur didn't really want to force people out like this and was trying to hide behind them. He was afraid to truly challenge his father's ways, more than this anyway, and Merlin had enough of it. "Prove that you truly think it's the right thing to do."

"How?"

"Go to the Druids yourself Arthur. Tell them, to their faces, that they aren't welcome on your land and that they have to leave."

Arthur nearly jumped back like Merlin just slapped him. "You want me to do it?"

"Don't make us do something that you know we can't do. There may be a treaty asking us to do this but don't make us go against another treaty with another community. You don't ask that of another kingdom so don't do it with us. If this camp's people go against your kingdom that much just by choosing to live where they are then...you have to handle it yourself."

He gestured for Galahad and Kay to follow him as he started to leave the room.

"Merlin, stop!" Arthur said getting up from his own chair.

Merlin looked back at his...friend but didn't stop walking. "Arthur...I'm not your servant anymore. Stop being a prat."

Leon and Galahad caught each others' eyes but didn't react any more than that. Kay didn't even look back during that exchange.

The doors closed behind him and Arthur was left staring after him with the others. "I can't believe that he just did that. Merlin really has some nerve, he should know better than"

"What Arthur," said Gaius as he turned to him from his place at the table. "Saying what he needs to say to a fellow negotiator. Merlin's right. I think that sometimes you forget that he isn't your servant anymore. He's an ambassador for another Lord now and he is entitled to reject your request if the law of the one he represents forbids it."

Arthur huffed but went and sat back down. "Well, he didn't have to call me a prat. He's not entitled to that anymore either."

Gwen smiled. "So as a servant he was entitled to it before?" A ghost of a smile started to appear on Arthur's face before Gwen remembered the issue still at hand. "So what are you going to do now Arthur?"

"I-I don't know. I can't very well expect that the Druids will just leave if I ask them to."

"Arthur," Gaius said slowly. "You know that the Druids are a peaceful people. They are living within the boundary of your kingdom but that's all they are doing."

Arthur looked to each of them and then looked to his fellow knights who hadn't said a word the entire time. "Leon, Elyan, what do you two think?"

Elyan crossed his arms. "The law is the law Arthur and I will accept any decision that you make. Personally...I don't see the harm in letting the Druids or any people with magic live where they want as long as they don't hurt anyone. Being around the Albions and with Kay and Galahad all these months...I think we could be open to being able to live in peace."

Arthur nodded at his final word. "Leon? You?"

"Well...Arthur, it could be time to make a change to the law. It's now past the one year mark of the truce. Those of magic haven't really done anything to us since the death penalty was lifted. That's probably earned...some kind of exception to be made in some cases."

Arthur was confused now. He knew that he necessarily didn't have to do anything. These Druids weren't harming his kingdom at all so he didn't have to force them to do anything. Yet, the law still demanded that magic couldn't stay within his kingdom. If he made an exception then with the druids then everyone would expect one.

A new thought then popped into his head. Is that such a bad thing? He now knew that magic wasn't necessarily evil. The Order of the Bear, the people of Albion, the Druids...Merlin, they all were users of magic, some were truly powerful, but they weren't mad, cackling evil monsters. That used to be the image he always associated with people of magic...before he became king. Not to mention the lessons that magic in any form will corrupt the most noble of men to evil. The ones that was drilled into him by his father.

The same father that started these laws to try to ease his conscience by taking it out on people like them. When Arthur had returned to Camelot a year ago, he had asked Geoffrey of Monmouth to unseal the records that his father had locked away during the start of the Great Purge. He went through page after page, learning all about the actions taken by Uther. Names of targets and people up for execution that he recognized also came up. He saw the name of Lord Connor and his parent's names on the list due for execution as well as Sir Kay and even Sir Kalen from an old list of known sorcerers still on the loose. Merlin's father Balinor was also on a hunt list which made his heart a little chilled as the image of that man in the cave came into his mind. He also found that magic had even helped his father conquer this kingdom long ago which greatly surprised him as his father always said that he did it all on his own. Never did he mention that he even had a sorcerer as an active member of his court as well as formal alliances with Priestesses of the Old Religion.

Yet despite all of that, he turned the entire kingdom against them to settle his guilt of unknowingly sacrificing his mother for an heir. When he became king, he wanted to build on what his father started but that was becoming more complicated then he first thought. In just over under two years of his reign, he had lost two allies his father made...though they made it clear that keeping them as allies meant making these people suffer.

"Thank you for your honesty," he said getting to his feet. "I'll need some time to really think on it."

He took Guineviere's hand and they left the throne room while Leon and Elyan went off themselves leaving Gaius and Eli alone.

"Gaius, do you think Arthur will really force the Druids to leave?" asked Eli.

Gaius looked down at his young apprentice before looking back at the door his king just left. "I honestly don't know. I've seen Arthur grow and go through much and he's been able to rise up to any challenge. This one is different though. It was one that Merlin has given him. Funny enough, I find it a little ironic that a former servant would give him his hardest one to date."

* * *

Merlin, Kay and Galahad walked through the city in order to head to the woods beyond the city walls for some peace and quiet. They were still in their formal clothes which made them stick out to the people of Camelot and made them move out of the way of 'those sorcerers' as they were often referred to now.

"What was that all about?" Galahad asked when they were clear of the city.

Merlin let a small smile slide on his face. "Just a little tactic that Arthur used on his father once. Challenge him to do something that both of us knew was wrong yet tell him that he has to do it himself because I won't. Hopefully, it should push him to make the right choice and leave them be."

Galahad rubbed his forehead. "If he does...that could be the first step to let all people of magic be."

"That's what I'm hoping for. Arthur really does want to give people of magic a fair chance. I know that he really does...but he let's the pressure of satisfying his people, court and his father's legacy have too much hold on his decisions."

"Ah...I know how it is to deal with a leader like that. Connor was that way when he first took leadership of Albion. He felt like he wouldn't live up to Lord Gwaine's example and be a good leader. Now, he is three times the leader that Gwaine ever was."

Merlin smiled at that. "It's too bad Arthur couldn't have heard about that. It might help him see better if he knew he had something like that in common with a leader of magic."

"Maybe," Galahad said with a smile.

"Oh, now that we're on the subject of magic leaders, what was all that about with the Druids and interfering in their lives?"

"Oh," said Kay leaning up against a tree. "We were up against the wall on Eire before a big battle coming up as we were outnumbered. We needed some more magical help for the coming battle and Caleb thought of getting the Druids to tip the scale."

"Caleb?"

"Sir Caleb," said Galahad. "He was with us since the Order's inception. He was a druid that Connor met and befriended when he and his father were on the run."

A druid friend? This Caleb must be the one that Connor had mentioned in passing before. "He never mentioned Caleb to me before."

"Not surprising," Galahad said sitting down on a tree stump. "Connor and Caleb were best friends. He was close with Malcolm too. Well, he was a good friend to all of us really. Caleb was an even better with a sword than me. He fell in battle over nine years ago."

"I'm sorry."

"Thanks." Kay said gratefully. "Well, ten years ago Caleb went to the camps and tried to convince them to take up arms to fight on Eire for the Celts and our Welsh allies. Things were always tense because of Caleb's choice to become a warrior with us but he was still one of them. He went to them and argued that they couldn't sit back while they could've helped so many people that actually both wanted and needed their help. Said that they couldn't always just hide behind being pacifists from wars or the Purge. Quite a few were convinced enough to come and help but the majority of the Druids felt that we corrupted them for our benefit. They respected that Caleb and the others did what they felt that they had to do but it still wasn't by their ways. Those that left couldn't live with them anymore."

"Really?" Merlin knew that the Druids didn't approve of being aggressive but he didn't think they were capable of kicking people out of their camps. "Wow."

"Connor and Caleb didn't want to lose their friendship so they made the treaty and a promise that we wouldn't try to tell them how to live their lives again. We've been able to stay on good respectful terms since."

"What happened to the Druids that agreed to help?"

Galahad held his hands to calm him. "Oh, don't worry about them Merlin. They're all on Eire and started their own camp there. They were welcomed there on those lands and have started to thrive where they couldn't in these lands. They brought the Druid ways of peace there as well but are also becoming more active than the Druids here."

"Oh, that's good. Well, I'm happy that I was able to help keep Albion and the Druids still on good terms." He looked back to the city. "Let's hope that Albion's history repeats itself but with Camelot and the Druids."

Galahad took off a leaf that fell on his shoulder. "Well...that fills me with hope. Maybe when the two year mark on the truce ends we can change it to a full fledged peace treaty."

* * *

A flash grazed Gwaine's left ear as it collided a tree nearby and sent bark flying everywhere. Gwaine, Tristan, Percival and two soldiers were on foot, running from over three dozen pursuers. The sight of the other mens' dead eyes were in their minds as their hearts beat like warhorses.

They had reached the town and immediately they all sensed something amiss. There were tents laid out on the sides of the road leading into town. At least about two dozen of them. There were a few buildings of the town smoking like there were dying fires that had been set to them. There were strange banners of a cross in a triangle planted around the place. It had all the signs of an occupation from an invading army. They knew that they Arthur had to know about this as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the red of their cloaks and uniforms made them stick out like sore thumbs and soon there were people with swords and spears running at them from the camp.

They drew their weapons to engage them but they were greeted with some colored flashes of light that struck the ground in front of them. Some of those men had magic! And they were trying to kill them. Gwaine loved fighting as much as the next knight but they were both outnumbered and outclassed. They began riding back but that didn't help either. They barely rode for half a minute before men came out of the woods. The horses were so startled that a few of them were flung from their saddles. They engaged them and it seemed like they might be able to fight them off and keep on riding on...until another sorcerer came in.

He was a young man with black curly hair, pale blue eyes and was in a black cloak with armor peeking underneath. He cast a spell that made a dead enemy soldier's sword fly off and land in the chest of one of their soldiers. Then he cast a spell that caused the horses to start bucking around until all of them fell off their horses. They then galloped away back to the town leaving them stranded. Another two soldiers fell to the enemies swords and the shouts of the men from the occupied town were starting to get closer.

"Retreat!" Gwaine yelled out.

They took off on foot while the remaining men of the ambush kept up the pursuit with that sorcerer shooting spells at their retreating backs. One by one, their men dropped dead from either a weapon or a spell. It played out that way until there were only five of them left. It looked like they might not get away until suddenly there was silence behind them and the flashes of magic stopped.

"What happened?" asked Percival looking back but still running.

"Let's not stop and find out. We should just keep going," Tristan said as he pulled on Percival's cape to make sure he didn't stop.

Gwaine wiped a bead of sweat that was falling in front of his eyes. "We should get back to the village. We need horses. We have to let Arthur know what we just saw."

* * *

The soldiers pursued those Camelot knights like a hunting party going after a staggard until they froze in their tracks. Even Mordred was frozen in his tracks like a flesh and blood statue. Their bodies just went numb out of nowhere.

"What is this?" Mordred asked trying to keep up the pursuit.

"That would be me." Everyone looked up to see a woman in a cloak patterned with velvet thorns sown on them and high heeled shoes slowly descending upon them from the sky. Her shiny black hair flapping lightly and her cherry red lips in a tranquil smile. "That's enough."

She waved her hand and released them from her spell. Mordred was the first to recover from the shock. "Lady Mab, why?"

"Don't worry Mordred. You all did well but we still need some of those men alive for our plan."

"I...I don't understand."

Mab walked slowly up to him and caressed his left cheek softly. "Sweet Mordred. So eager. Don't tell me you forgot the surprises we have in mind for Camelot."

Mordred took a minute to go over what Mab and Vortigern's plans were when he slowly smiled as the memory of them came back. "Right...sorry, I forgot."

Mab shrugged it off. "Don't worry. You were just over excited." She looked behind her. "Those knights will now report exactly what they saw to Arthur...what we wanted them to see anyway. But, not everything and that's what will give us the advantage come time for the engagement."

"Meanwhile, this will drive a wedge between their fragile truce with Albion." added Mordred.

"Yes," said Mab as they started walking back to town. "You've been paying attention Mordred. You've calmed down and are proving that my faith in you is non misplaced after all."

* * *

**End of Chapter 4**

A/N: I hope you liked this one. I wanted both Merlin and Arthur to be mentally growing smarter as people but still feel somwhat bound by their new political relationship and situation. Arthur is still coming along as king and is torn with ruling with both how he wants and he feels he must following his father. I felt a complication like different rules for different magical people might help add some insight that there is even more to magic then he was taught and has learned even after all this time. With Merlin, I wanted him to start helping Arthur do what's right with how he feels he should now that he isn't bound by a master and servant relationship now as he is starting to embrace his new politcal power. If you have any issues or comments, let me know. And Happy Halloween.


	5. Nemain's Illusion

**Dangers in the Path to Destiny**

A/N: We're coming close to the war that is coming. I'm very excited to start writing the chapters after this one.

Chapter 5: Nemain's Illusion

Arthur was pacing his room with Gwen sitting on the bed watching him.

"Arthur, you've been doing that since yesterday. You'll be wearing a wedge into the floor if you keep it up."

Arthur went to a chair by the table and pulled it out so that he could sit and face her. "This isn't easy Gwen."

"No one expects it to be. Even I'm not to sure what I think we should do."

Arthur looked up and caught her eyes. "We?"

"Arthur, I'm your Queen. You don't have to make these decisions on your own. I'm here to help you take care of the kingdom."

Arthur smiled at her and got up from his chair and went to sit by her on the bed. She grasped his hand and he squeezed back lightly. "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me Arthur. It's what I'm here for. You have your duty to Camelot and so do I."

"I appreciate that Gwen, really I do. But...there are some things that Camelot needs me to decide on my own." He looked over to the window and saw the parts of his city that were visible from it. "The laws regarding magic is one of them. This isn't what I thought it would be like. Magic is supposed to be simple. It's supposed to be the thing I'm always going to fight in any amount I come across. Then Merlin comes in and everything becomes confusing." He rubbed his eyes to try and relieve his growing stress. "Now there are cities and communities of people with magic and supportive of it. People who are powerful enough to fly and people who are only able to make small pebbles fly."

Gwen looked down at her feet. "I know. Before...I used to think that people turned to magic because they wanted to be powerful. That it was they're only reason but I'm not so sure anymore. Like Kay...he's one that chose to start studying magic and I can't understand why people like him do it. He's not obsessed with power at all. He even says that aside from what the air magic he uses during his training he's not very good with it. He's obviously not as powerful as a good many other sorcerers out there but he still is happy with the magic he can use. I don't understand."

Arthur let himself lean back until his back was flat on the bed with his feet dangling out. "You know, my father used to say that to know one sorcerer's mind is to know them all but I doubt even Kay knows his own mind."

Gwen stiffled a small giggle before it was wiped again from her face. "Now...I found out that there are people who didn't even have a choice at all. Good people like Merlin, the Druids, Connor...Galahad's son. I can't imagine how it must've been growing up knowing you could be executed any day for something you couldn't even help."

"Well...I can sympathize for them but we also know that there are people who are born with their magic and still go on to do evil things. Even harmful things to people that they love."

"Like Morgana you mean," Gwen said closing her eyes at the thought of her old mistress and friend. "When I first saw she had magic, I thought that Morgause taught it to her and once she learned her first bit of magic that it started to turn her against us. Though, after I found out that people could be born with their magic, I started to think that maybe it wasn't Morgause after all that turned her like this. Maybe it was us."

Arthur raised his head off the mattress to look at her. "What do you mean?"

"Your father always made it clear that magic would be shown no mercy in this kingdom and those with it would be put to death. I guess she and a lot of those others felt that they had to become merciless too if they wanted to live."

Arthur closed his eyes and let his head drop back into the bed. "Maybe...I don't know. I don't know a lot these days and everyone expects me to."

"Because they believe in you. Everyone here believes in you. The knights, the people of the city and villages, even Merlin and the people of Albion. If they didn't then I don't think they would be trying so hard to plead their case to you."

Gwen laid her head down in the space between his head and shoulder and Arthur his arm around her to draw her closer. He closed his eyes and let the images of all the people he knew, both normal and magical, flash into his mind.

"I don't know if Camelot or even I am ready for such a big step. I don't know if we're ready to trust them."

"Neither am I," said Gwen closing her eyes to breathe in her husband. "But I do trust Merlin."

* * *

"Mordred," Vortigern said happily as Mordred walked into his tent with Mab at his side.

Mordred gave him a small bow. "Sire."

"I hear you engaged some of Arthur's men today."

"Yes, it would seem that they came north to investigate the rumors of mysterious thefts in the villages close by and wanted to find the cause."

Vortigern stood up from his throne and and went to circle Mordred with a smile. "Well, I say they found it. Ha Ha." He slapped Mordred's shoulder as he laughed making Mordred give him a small smile. "You've done well Mordred. Your magic and stealth skills have improved and you've brought my army supplies as well as drained Camelot's at the same time."

"It was my honor." He then frowned. "More had escaped though then we had planned to with the knowledge of our position."

"Don't worry my boy. The more to spread the news then the quicker it will go." He turned to his left to look at the brown, curly haired woman standing there. "Nemain, you're confident that they saw what we wanted?"

She then exited the tent wearing a confident smile with everyone following her. She overlooked the town which still had smoke surrounding it and even cloaked the water behind it. It looked like a city that had been sacked and abandoned with a small camp in front of it. "This is what those knights saw and what they will report back to their king." She raised her arms out. "_**Chwalu'r Rhith**_" Suddenly the smoke and mist subsided and a few of the buildings glowed mildly for a fraction of a second. "This is what they didn't see and won't be able to report."

The town now had armored men in the streets with some on the roofs. There were now catapults and instant forges coming into view around the town with sounds of construction now filling the air. Over to the sea, there were now quite a few war ships coming into sight. The new sight made it clear that 3/4 of Vortigern's full force had been concealed. The spell also revealed the sight of creatures flying over the city and around the ships. Great scaly winged creatures and savage winged creatures hovering about.

"Brilliant Nemain," said Angus as the illusionary cloak that was spread was now being unveiled. "Your illusion was good."

"No, Excellent," Vortigern smiled at the sight of his full force. "Excellent. Very good work Nemain my dear." He then took her hand and gave it a small kiss.

"You Tregors," said Mab with a small shake in her head. "Ever the charmers."

"Thank you." He then gestured his four sorcerer friends to return to his tent. "Now that they have stumbled upon our position, it's time to begin the next phase of my plan. Mab, Nemain, I will need you and your forces to be with the second wave of my army."

"Understood," they said as they joined Vortigern at a table with a map of the land.

"Angus, you and your personal creatures will be with me in the first wave."

"Thank you Vortigern."

"We'll take about half a dozen sorcerers with us as well. Judging from the amount that the illusion allowed those knights to see, Arthur will think that I'm bringing my entire force at him in one sweep. He will think that I'm trying to overwhelm him with all I have and return it with at least double my numbers."

"And when the time is right, we will have our second and third waves surprise him and cut through his men like paper," added Mab. "A truly sneaky plan of attack."

"When the signal is given, have the second wave join the fray and call for the third wave to slowly advance. Sound for the catapults to go for Arthur's rear forces and for Nemain's ogres to jump and assist my first wave. Keep your gargoyles with the third wave reserves. If all goes right." Vortigern slammed his fist down on a figure representing Camelot's men on his map. "Yes. My father and brother taught me well."

"Sire," Mordred said stepping up. "May I ask that Arthur's demise be left to me."

"Mordred, I'm afraid that the sooner Arthur is destroyed the better chance of success that we'll have for my plan. If there is one thing that my father had against his reign was overestimating the hopes of his enemies. I can't have Arthur living any longer than necessary to keep up the morale of his people."

Mordred gritted his teeth but bowed nonetheless. "I-I understand Vortigern."

"But...if it means that much to you. I was planning on having you be with the third wave but...you could be with Angus and I in the front to have your chance."

Mordred looked up at him with wide eyes. "Truly?"

"Of course, this doesn't mean that Arthur will necessarily fall by your hand but it does become a possibility this way."

"Just the same, Thank you. I truly appreciate this."

Angus looked away from the map to Vortigern. "What if Arthur sounds the retreat and falls back to Camelot?"

"That won't matter. We have a force that can attack the city from afar, above and engage it on foot. And by then, Alined, Odin and Bayard will attack their border defenses so if Arthur somehow escapes and tries to regroup at any of those positions, it will be his end." He left the table and resettled on his throne. "Once that is handled, we can then focus on the other kings and their lands until this whole land answers to me."

"And Albion?" asked Mab.

"Albion...that will be saved for last. They are the real threat. I won't risk engaging them until everything surrounding them is under my command. My family fell to them because my father underestimated Connor basing his threat to us on his age. I won't make the same mistake. We personally know how strong he and the rest of the Order of the Bear and the Albion army is." He clenched his right hand into a fist while his left gripped the arm of his throne. "They'll be saved for last." He then relaxed himself. "First things first. We're getting ahead of ourselves. Let's muster the men. We march tomorrow at first light."

* * *

"Finally," Gwaine said breathlessly as they reached the village again. "We made it back."

They stumbled their way back into the village and were greeted by fanatic whispers. It wasn't surprising that they generated such mayhem. They were after all dirty, sweaty, and covered with spots of blood from both their friends and enemies.

"Water." Kenson ran to them in a frenzy. "What happened to all of you?"

"I think we found your thieves," said Tristan putting his sword to the ground and resting himself on his hilt. "or rather they found us."

"There is at least a battalion of men in the port town up north. They sacked it," said Percival taking some water that a village girl handed him.

Kenson shook his head with disbelief forming on his face. "What? No. Jagan has been up there to investigate the thefts and said everything was fine in the town."

"Looks like there was a traitor," said Gwaine as he wiped his face clean with a given cloth. "We have to get back to Camelot."

"We have a few horses here. You can take those," he said helping him up.

"Thank you. But if we take your horses then you should take our advice. Those men are going to be heading your way now. Now that they know that we know they're there, they will stop being discreet and become merciless. You all should take what you can and make your way for Camelot."

The villagers all looked to one another with panic in their eyes. Kenson looked scared. "Leave our village? All we have is here."

"And soon," said Tristan. "There might not be a here left. From what we saw, there looked like there were around three hundred men and they aren't friendly. They sacked and attacked that town and they will now sack the remaining villages around here and kill anyone in their way. If you value your lives and the lives of your loved ones, you will leave."

The women listening started to run to their husbands or grasp their children while a few of the men looked around at the people of their village. Kenson looked defiant but still nodded. "Okay...we'll head out as soon as we can."

"And so will we," said Gwaine. He looked to the two soldiers that they still had left. "You two stay here and help the villagers in any way you can and begin to take them to Camelot."

"Sir," they said with a bow.

"Those of you that can," he said to the villagers. "Take the remaining horses and ride to your neighbors and let them know what happened and tell them to head for Camelot as well."

"Let's head out," said Percival stomping to a horse. "Arthur needs to know about this right away."

* * *

"Thank you all for coming."

It was the following day and Arthur had called for all the knights and the royal council to be present at a surprise meeting in the throne room. Arthur was there alone and asked that Guinevere not attend but go and speak with Merlin, Kay and Galahad privately while this happened to let them know his final decision. He saw all of the people in the room whispering to each other, wondering what was happening before he stood up and began.

"Sire," they said one after another.

"I called this meeting because there is a matter that has had my attention for the last few days and I've reached a final decision that I would like to share with you all. As you know...we have been in a treaty of truce with the city of Albion for over a year now. It was decided that any of those found associated with magic who weren't a threat would be sent to their city instead of being put to death."

The people of the court nodded and he continued.

"Yet, it would seem that our treaty with them doesn't apply to all those of magic. It seems that there are many groups and communities of magical people out there and they all don't yield to Lord Connor and his Order of the Bear."

At that there were shouts of disbelief and annoyance. Particularly from his father's oldest friends and knights. Shouts like...

"Ludicrous."

"That makes no sense."

"Magic is magic."

"How uncivilized."

Arthur clapped his hands. "Enough!" When they settled down he coughed and continued. "Now, I've been given a report that there is a druid camp to the east. According to our Albion guests, Lord Connor is in a treaty with the Druid communities which actually forbids them from forcing them to come into their city against their will."

"So we must do it ourselves then?" shouted one amongst the knights but Arthur couldn't see exactly who.

Arthur did hold up a hand. "No, that's not what I'm saying. The Albions won't be taking any one in that doesn't with to stay with them. It turns out that they never did and even if we did send the Druids there, they would just leave as soon as we left them. And since there is not another place to move them where they can be moved to, that means they have no where else to go."

"What are you trying to say sire," asked Lord Calhoun.

"I've decided that I should make a public proclamation to you all that states that the Druids...are to be left in peace. They will be allowed to stay wherever they make camp as long as they cause no harm to anyone."

At this, there was an even bigger uproar then before. Some of the knights, who had been slowly getting used to the presence of Merlin and Kay's magic in the training grounds started to verbally clash with the more anti-magic knights and council members' protests.

"They won't be hurting anyone."

"That's what they want us to believe. We can't just let them do what they will."

"What do you think they will do?"

"They could easily plot against us and take in enemies of the kingdom if they know we won't approach them."

"That's ridiculous."

"Leaving them on their own is ridiculous."

Arthur observed all of this for about a minute before he slammed his fist down on a nearby table. He now adopted a forceful tone to his voice as he looked upon everyone in the room.

"This decision was not made lightly. I will say that now loud and clear. I have thought long and hard about this and have made up my mind. I will have this practice go on until the two year mark on our truce with Albion is up. Then I will discuss this further with Albion's council and see about any other long term plans. You are all dismissed."

* * *

Merlin had a grin plastered to his face when Gwen finished telling them the news.

"Really? He's going to leave them in peace?" Merlin felt something spark and he was now warm inside. It was starting. What he hoped would come. It really was starting to happen.

"Yes," said Gwen. "We talked about it for a good while...and he decided to take a leap of faith with the Druids and give them a chance."

Galahad and Kay even broke into small grins.

"Gem, this is amazing. I don't believe it," said Galahad. Gwen smiled at the use of his childhood nickname for her.

"Me either," said Kay. "If I didn't hear it from you my lady then I would pass it off as nonsense."

"Kay," Merlin said narrowing his eyes at him a bit before smiling again. "So what's going to happen now?"

"He's going to publicly declare this decision through the kingdom next week. He would do it immediately but there is another issue that needs his immediate attention."

Merlin's smile dropped a little. "What issue? Is there something wrong?"

"Oh, there are just some reports of mysterious thefts up north. Some villages are losing some crops and cattle and no one knows who or even what might be responsible."

"Wait...is that what Gwaine, Percival and Tristan were riding out to do a few days ago?"

"Yes, but I'm sure it's nothing. It could just be some wild goose chase." Gwen then stood up from where she had sat to tell them this. "I better be off. Arthur should be done with delivering this decision to the council and knights by now."

"Okay, thanks again Gwen," Merlin said opening the door for her.

As soon as she left, Kay narrowed his eyes. "Something not right here."

Merlin looked at him with a bemused face. "What are you talking about? Things couldn't be more right, right now. By letting the Druids be, Arthur is starting to open up to the chance to allow those with magic to be allowed back into his kingdom in peace."

"It's not that," he said shaking his head. "It's these thefts. Remember how those three dodged the issue when we asked them what they were doing. They made it seem like it was a standard patrol. That's what I mean."

"I don't get it."

Galahad slowly nodded his head. "I see where you're going with this. Merlin," he said looking to him. "If this was really as trivial as Gwen made it out to be then why would they hide it."

"They don't have to tell us everything Galahad. We're dignitaries for Albion, not members of Camelot's court." Merlin didn't want anything to bring him down now. He felt nothing could. "You two are just over thinking it. Nothing could be more right now."

* * *

**"FORWARD!"  
**

At Vortigern's command, over a thousand men started to march off with Camelot on all their minds. Magical beasts flew overhead and walked alongside the troops filling them with confidence at the thought that they were invincible compared to the magicless forces of their Briton enemies.

* * *

**End of Chapter 5**

A/N: Wow, this update was fast. The reason is thanks to Hurricane Sandy, work was called off for two days as much of New York was shut down. I work in Downtown Manhattan and with these flood warnings, I was allowed to stay at home. With this new free time, I was able to work on the next chapter and have it out for you sooner. I hope you liked it and tell me what you think of the latest new developments. The next chapter will have news of the attack reach Camelot and now it seems that this spike that Merlin hoped for may just start tumbling down when word of magic attacking the knights ignites the court.

_Chwalu'r Rhith_ - Dispel the Illusion


	6. The Viking Invasion

**Dangers in the Path to Destiny**

A/N: I hope that any who were in Hurricane Sandy's path and are reading this were spared any real harm. I saw from the reports that a lot of people now have problems with flooding and damage from the strong winds. The wind was so powerful I thought I might find out how Dorothy felt. Thankfully, the most damage my home got was a ripped off gutter that is still dangling off by the hinges..

I want to take the time to point out that both Arthur and Merlin had to learn a lot of the world during times of...relative peace. With this story, they will come to experience real fear and terror from all out war that will change them in strong ways. There all still young and young people are prone to mistakes but its how they handle and learn from them that will count. Also, I've been either hit with a bug or Sandy's winds, but I've heard and seen some great quotes that help outline a key point or moment in a chapter and decided to give it a whirl.

* * *

_You came in, killed them and took their land. That's what conquering nations do. It's what Caesar did. He's not going around saying: I came, I conquered, I feel really bad about it. ~ _Spike, Buffy the vampire slayer

* * *

Chapter 6: The Viking Invasion

Viking troops broke down the doors of hut after hut in the dead village. Possessions were being thrown out of the homes and they gathered at piles by the entrances.

"Sire," one of the soldiers said bowing to Vortigern. "The village is completely abandoned. From what we can tell, the people here left in a hurry. The trails show that they headed south."

"Thank you soldier," he said dismissing him. "The knights definitely passed by here."

"Yes, and it would seem that they brought the villagers with them to Camelot," said Mab. She looked about the empty village. "We should take what we can salvage from this place.

"Sire," one of the soldiers near them said. He had a torch in his hand. "We are prepared to fire the village." The surrounding men seemed to light up at the idea of burning this village to a cinder. Their eyes filled with a fire that matched their lit torches.

Yet...Vortigern raised his eyes at that. "Hold your trousers soldier."

This made the vikings raise their eyes.

"Salvage what you can first...then burn the village when we're done." Mab said with a bit of bite in her voice which told them to move. They immediately left them alone after that. "Unbelievable. Doesn't anyone know you pillage a place before you bring it down anymore?"

Vortigern raised his shoulders. "Nowadays I think that soldiers forget that there is a system to what we do when we conquer a new land. It's not their fault. My cousin hadn't conquered any new land in his lifetime and his old army seems out of practice and over eager."

"I don't think he's the one to blame. Most of these vikings have brawn over brains, so they know no better than shrewd brutality. However, with our brains we can use their brawn to their full potential." She then leaned closer to the tracks and placed her hand into it. "I would say that the last of them left a little over an hour ago."

"Pick up the pace men!" shouted Vortigern. "I want each of these houses searched for anything useful and set to burn within the hour!"

* * *

Galahad was in the town going from shop to shop. He wanted to find Clara a nice present as it was her birthday in over two weeks. He smiled as he thought of the beautiful and strong woman who by all rights was his. She was always on his mind whenever he had a moment to himself especially since he saw her only once every other month, at least, before the truce. When news that the truce called the end of the demand for her life as well as their son's Garrett for their magic, they came and moved to Albion. Now they were housed in the Manor and he got to see them during his report visits. If what Merlin said was true and Arthur would help eliminate the laws against magic completely...then he could truly marry her which made him twice as eager than normally of the prospect.

Currently, he was going through the inner circle of the city trying to ignore the stares. He was wearing some of his regular clothes but he was still recognizable as the magical knight from Albion. Not that it bothered him, it was over a year now and he hardly reacted any more though it was still slightly annoying seeing everyone around him flinch whenever he moved or made a sound. Now that he was shopping for a gift, they were more tense whenever he asked a question from the shopkeepers. He was looking at jewelry when he heard someone call his name. He looked to his left to see that it was Leon and Elyan in their mail but without their cloaks.

"Galahad...what brings you here?" Elyan said as they walked up to him.

"Oh, trying to find a birthday gift for my...I guess you could say wife Clara even if it's not official."

"Really?" asked Leon. "I would like to see her one day. She and your son."

Galahad shrugged. He didn't know if Clara or Garrett would like to meet Knights of Camelot especially with what they've heard about what they did to their kin and secretly, Galahad didn't know if he wanted them to either. "Maybe one day you will."

Leon nodded and Galahad moved to look at the display of pendants that he was eyeing before. Elyan sensed the new tension and tried to steer the conversation back to something comfortable.

"What kind of things does she like?"

"Clara? She's a complete mystery even after all this time." He smiled at how Clara still drove him crazy. "She could be a complete girl sometimes but then she could be as tough as nails other times. She always keeps me guessing."

Elyan was intrigued now. "Really...well what did you give her last time?"

"Oh, I got her a beautiful winter cloak with a fur collar and sleeves. She put it on as soon she got it last winter."

"That's a nice gift," said Leon.

"Yes well, I don't want to make it a nice gift twice in a row. I want to find something that could show off her tough nature now."

Now Elyan was intrigued. "How tough are we talking exactly?"

"We're talking about a woman that took me down a few times in the beginning and even time to time now." His eyes glazed a little. "A real woman."

Leon and Elyan looked to each other in disbelief. "Really?" Leon asked. "I remember before we came to Camelot, all the girls that you made watch you during the practice hours. Yet, you didn't pay them any mind. Someone should've told them: If you want to catch Galahad's attention, beat him."

This got them all to laugh.

"Yes, that would've helped I think," Galahad said in between laughs. He picked up a brooch in the shape of an arrow. "How about this?"

"An arrow?" asked Elyan.

"Well she did and continues to strike my heart. And other places."

Leon shook his head. "Try again."

As he put the brooch back down, the loud sound of hooves were sounding through the street. The three warriors looked down the path to see Gwaine, Percival and Tristan riding hard for the castle. They were in horrible shape. Covered in dirt and spots of blood with rips and tears in their cloaks.

"What in the-?" said Galahad.

"Something's happened." said Leon as he ran for them.

* * *

Merlin was blasting a few targets on the training grounds in order to improve his accuracy. He even made a small show to Kay as he blasted all seven of them at once with one spell. The goal was to focus his long range spell on multiple specific points without making the power of his spell spread beyond what he was intending. Quite a bit advanced but Merlin was rising to the challenge.

"How was that?" It looked pretty clean on this effort.

Kay went over to the targets and saw some disturbed earth between a few of them. He looked back at him and shook his head. "Still a little sloppy. But," he said as Merlin's falling face. "You're getting a lot cleaner. It's only between three of them and the damage isn't deep. A whole lot better than last week."

"Really?"

"Of course," Kay said with a small smile. "Remember, before you made a wedge between a target so deep that my foot could sink in it completely?"

"_**Atgyweirio**_" The targets magically pieced themselves together. "Alright, I'll try it again."

Before he could launch the spell again, Kay put a hand to stop him. "Merlin, aren't those your friends that rode off a few days ago?"

Merlin looked to where he was pointing and saw that it was indeed Percival, Tristan and Gwaine swaggering into the castle. The three of them seemed in pretty bad shape even from where he was.

"It's them. What's wrong with them?"

"That must've been some eventful patrol that you were so sure was nothing."

Merlin didn't even bat an eye at his sarcasm. He just took off for them with Kay hot on his heels.

* * *

Arthur walked into the throne room with a frantic fast walk. He saw that the room was filled with curious members of the council and a few knights as the three returning knights condition created such a quick buzz. Merlin, Kay and Galahad were there also.

"Are you three okay?" he said looking his friends over.

"Fine Arthur," said Tristan. "We're fine."

Percival and Gwaine nodded too to show that they were fine also.

Their nods did start to calm him down but he still look agitated. "That's good. What happened out there? And where are the rest of your men?"

Percival took point. "We had found a small army camped in front of one of the port towns to the north. There is a good chance they were the ones behind those thefts."

Arthur clenched his right hand at his side into a fist but no one noticed. "How many are there?"

Gwaine thought back to the size of the camp set up that they saw and how much was taken from the villages. "We don't know for sure. I would say that was around two to three hundred of them. They were under a banner so it looked like an army. We were going to head back to alert you but we were ambushed."

"Only you three survived?" Arthur asked a little somberly.

Tristan shook his head. "No, we had two others but they're assisting the villagers in the area in evacuatiing and heading to Camelot for their own safety."

"You three did well. I wouldn't want any innocent people hurt. We have to prepare for this army before they could get to far into the kingdom." At that, everyone started to head out to begin preparations.

"Arthur," said Percival stopping everyone in their tracks. "There's...one more thing."

"What is it?"

"This army," said Tristan hating to do this with their magical friends in the room. "they had some sorcerers with them."

With how quiet the room got, you would think it was stark empty instead of cramped with people.

"Sorcerers?" asked Arthur. "You're sure?"

"With all the spells and magical blasts that were shot at us, we're pretty sure," said Gwaine. "Though, they weren't anyone we recognized."

Though it seemed his last statement fell on death ears because everyone looked to the three who were off in the corner of the room.

"Oh," said Kay. "Are you all thinking that this is our fault?"

"No," said Tristan. "That's not what we or anyone should be saying at all. We know that this isn't your faults."

"How can you be so sure?" said Lord Renmar.

"What are you trying to say Renmar?" asked Leon.

Renmar smiled as he leered his eyes at them. "That, we shouldn't rule out any possibilities."

This one set Merlin off. "Possibilities? How can we be a possibility? You do know that the people of Albion aren't the only people that have magic, don't you Renmar?"

"Merlin's right," said Galahad as soon as he finished. "You're supposed to be a royal council. As part of one myself, I know you can't just start pointing fingers at the first people you see on a whim."

"What would someone like you know of diplomacy?" he said skeptically to the snickers of a few of the nobles in the room. "Magic was used by this army and you're the only people of magic in an army."

"So that means its our fault?" asked Kay trying to suppress a true urge to blow this man out a window. "We've been here the whole time and our Order excusions into the land have stopped with the new laws bringing people to Albion ourselves came into effect. How is it our fault? We didn't even know where these three were."

"Please, with what you can do? You probably could cast spells to attack from a distance and have them seek people."

"You have no idea how magic works do you?" he asked as he looked like he both wanted to laugh at him and shout at him. Even Merlin and Galahad looked that torn at Renmar's display of magical ignorance.

"Thank god for that."

"Enough!" shouted Arthur. This made everyone freeze in their tracks. Arthur was close to feeling betrayal as soon as magic was mentioned as part of the attack. Yet as they made their case to everyone Arthur was reminded of something he once said to his father. _You hear the word magic and you no longer listen_. That time, Gwen had been accused at the first sign of it around her and she was made a scapegoat. Arthur wouldn't make the same mistake. "I've heard enough of this foolish finger pointing. Merlin and Galahad bring up good points. Renmar, do not forget that the three of them welcomed diplomatic guests. You can't just insult them with accusations like this without proof."

"But sire," he started.

"I know," he cut in. "Yet...just because magic was at the root of this problem, that doesn't necessarily mean that _they_ are the problem." He then looked to the three of them. "Unless there is evidence that supports that they are responsible they are as guilty of causing this as you or I. They aren't here with us to take the blame for anything that goes on."

Merlin couldn't express how proud he was feeling of Arthur at that moment. Uther would've dismissed their defense immediately but Arthur was being fair and wise to them despite what they were.

"Thank you sire," he said with a bow to hide his smile.

"Gwaine, Percival, Tristan," Arthur said looking to them as he called their name. "Can you tell us anything else?"

"No...we only caught sight of this army for a few moments before we started to head back here?"

"You said you saw a banner? Do you remember what it looked like?"

"No," said Percival. "All I remember was that it had red and pale green colors. That's it."

At Gwaine's and Tristan's agreeing nods Arthur closed that hope for an answer. "Anything about the men that actual men that attacked you that stuck out to you...besides the magic?"

"Err...Yes," Gwaine said thinking back to the fight. "A few of them had very strange helmets."

"Strange helmets?" Arthur asked biting back a scoff. How was that going to help?

Gwaine continued as he didn't see Arthur's impatience. "Yeah I know. They had...horns."

This response made a few of the nobles and knights suck in a breath of surprise, and for some: fear.

"Horns?" asked Leon.

"Yes."

A knight that Gwaine knew by sight but couldn't remember his name stepped up to him. "Were these horns metal and actually molded to the helmet?"

"Yeah...yes they were?"

"Oh no," said Leon with a small breath.

"What?" asked Arthur. "What's wrong?"

"Sire," Even though his voice was low he was still heard by everyone in the room. "That sounds like it might be an army of Norseman."

"Norsemen?" he asked a little confused.

"You probably might know them by their other name, The Vikings."

* * *

Afar, at that moment, an army that resembled a herd of furry horned rams slowly marched further south. Most of their eyes were hard but filled with anticipation of the coming battle. The black smoke of a burned village framed the background giving them an even more sinister look. With the dark colors of their furs, it made it seem like the smoke was giving life to these strong and bloodthirsty men.

To the front stood there king with his golden crown worn impressively on his head and his pale green royal robes standing out from the dark contrast of his men. Next to him were two men, dressed in dark robes with velvet thorns sown around them giving the king an even more impressive and scary mystique.

* * *

Vikings? Arthur had heard of them before. Most royals and nobles had at least heard a few stories of these notorious warriors. They were a strong and fierce people that practically lived for war. And they had magic as well. This was definitely a problem.

He looked at the panic forming in the faces of the throne room. "Calm down. I know that this is a formidable adversary at a first glance but it's one we will meet with full force. These Vikings will not be given a free reign if my people have anything to say about it." He turned to his three returning friends. "You say that their numbers were around 300?"

"Roughly," Tristan said with a nod.

"So small a number?" asked Elyan

Arthur shrugged. "Perhaps they think that's enough for us. We'll have to let them know better. Renmar," he said to the stubborn lord. "Lets make you and the others do something more productive then point fingers wildly and organize some men. For a force like this one, we'll need at least two times as many men."

"Yes sire," they mumbled before he dismissed them.

"You can count on us as well sire," said Elyan. Leon, Gwaine, Tristan and Percival showed Arthur their agreement with Elyan's declaration. Then the other knights in the halls stepped forward to show him that they would be there with him as well.

"Thank you," he said looking about at his men. "Our new enemies have the status of fierce warriors but so far they seem to be just glorified bandits. Bandits in any form will always fall to our steel. These vikings might be notorious in our lands but when we answer, the Knights of Camelot will gain that place in their homeland. For the love of Camelot!"

They all drew their swords. "For the love of Camelot!" they changed.

"Arthur," said Merlin.

"Merlin?"

"If you would have me...I'll be there by your side as well."

"Merlin, you're not my servant anymore, you don't have to follow me to the field anymore."

"No...but I'm volunteering to go with you. I think you forgot that the Vikings have magic on their side. If that's the case then you'll need me too. I'm at your service sire."

The knights looked at him with gratitude and relief that they had such a clearly powerful ally at their side.

"Thank you Merlin." He looked over to Kay and Galahad. "Would you help us as well?"

Merlin looked to the two of them with a smile thinking they would support him but it was swiped clean when they shook their heads.

"No." said Galahad.

"We won't." said Kay.

"What?" said Merlin. "I don't understand."

"Merlin," Galahad put out a hand to stop him there. "No."

"Why not? They could really use all the magical help they can get."

"It's against our code," said Kay folding our arms. "The Order of the Bear doesn't serve a king. Primarily, we assist those that have no justice and answer against those that abuse magic for selfish and evil purposes. Albion and the safety and salvation of those with magic are also part of our creed."

"But Camelot's people do need our help and these sorcerers," he started.

"Are using magic in the service of their king or lord," said Galahad. "That's different. This isn't a matter we come into. This is a war between two rulers. We don't interfere in the affairs of nobles and royalty like this."

"What about what happened on Eire? That was a king who had magic at his side and they used it in his service." he argued.

Galahad only shook his head more. "No, that was different too. King Palin Tregor was abusing it to enslave people both in and out of his lands. Mostly it was the Celts. They couldn't do anything to stop it and had little to no help. Also, many of those magic users were being forced to do his bidding because they felt they had no choice but certain death if they didn't."

"What about Kay's cousin?" he said hoping that this will cancel their reluctance out. "He was a noble fighting against him and you went to his aid."

Kay unfolded his arms. "Merlin, my cousin fought against the Tregors to try and stop them from doing these things. He didn't do it to expand his power or defend it either. And don't forget he was our ally."

"And Camelot is in a truce with us...but they aren't our allies." finished Galahad.

Merlin was finding himself stuck now. They had to help. This was their chance now. If magic helped Camelot fend off this invasion then the whole kingdom would see that it was a force for good, not just Arthur. Especially if there was more than one person with it that came to help them. He had to keep trying. "We were assigned with a duty here. If the kingdom we were sent to is in trouble then we have a duty to uphold here."

"Merlin," Galahad said sucking his teeth. "that you have wrong. Connor appointed us to protect you and Albion against possible treachery here in Camelot and assist in your training, that's it. This doesn't fall under either of those two things. This is you giving your service to your king but Arthur isn't _our_ king. Believe me when I say that I wish we could just help" he said slowly moving for the doors. "but rules are rules. I'm sorry, it is what it is." Kay moved to follow him out as well.

"We do appreciate Arthur's defense of us earlier. In the time we've spent here, you have gotten our respect...but not our loyalty."

Arthur made his way to them. "Wait...what if we made a compromise?" The two of them stopped and looked back at him. "It's clear that the Norseman permit the use of magic in their lands if they have in conjoined in their army. Like you said, we don't know how magic really works but even I know that one man against an army isn't a fair match even if that man is Merlin. If you stand with Merlin in defending the kingdom...I'll reward all your assistance by fully lifting the laws against magic for your people. All of the Order and Albion's magicians and sorcerers all be able to freely cross the land of Camelot."

Arthur couldn't believe he just said that but he didn't know what else to do. Merlin was putting himself in danger for Camelot when he was under no obligation to. He didn't know how many sorcerers that the Vikings had on their side but it was clear that they were quite a few. Arthur was good with a sword but even he wouldn't be able to fight off multiple warriors at once. So, Merlin might be this almighty warlock but he was sure that he couldn't handle so many magical foes at once himself. He didn't want to see him get hurt and for that he needed real help. Arthur would somewhat admit that, after last year, he knew there were sorcerers out there with powers that made their swords obsolete. Up til now, they'd been lucky to just not be challenged by more than one or two at a time before.

Merlin couldn't believe Arthur just said that. Even a few knights looked like they agreed with him. For a half a second, he thought his ears might've deceived him. It's what he always wanted for all these years. The destiny that was foretold.

Kay took a step forward. "No." Galahad shook his head with Kay's answer.

This made both Arthur and Merlin squint in confusion. "What?" they both asked.

"No," Kay repeated. They didn't say anything else and left the throne room.

* * *

Arthur was being helped out of his formal clothes by his servant Gale when there was a knock on his door.

"Come in." he said turning to the door.

Arthur put on a blank face when Merlin stepped in through the door. "Arthur," he said simply as he walked in.

"Gale," he said turning to his servant. "Could you leave the two of us alone for a moment?"

"Of course sire." He then left the room without skipping a beat.

"How's he working for you?" he asked after Gale left.

"He's good at his work. He hardly gives me any reason to complain when it comes to duties I need taken cared of or chores to be done. It's quite refreshing."

"You're bored aren't you?" Merlin said with a tilt in his head.

"Almost every day," he said taking off his jacket. "Merlin," he said going serious. "I'm actually glad you stopped by. I want to tell you that I appreciate your offer to help Camelot like that. You didn't have any reason to go that far for me when I never asked for your help."

"That hasn't stopped me before."

"No," he said a little bit to himself. "I guess it hasn't. I don't understand why you would do that though. It's not just because you feel like a druid prophecy gives you no choice does it?"

"No Arthur. Whether you want to believe it or not, I truly am loyal to you. Even when sometimes you don't make it easy." Arthur eyed him a little like he used to. Annoyed. "But," he said quickly. "it's harder not to be so loyal to you. Look at your fellow knights. They've stood by you during times when it seemed Camelot would be lost for good but you've lead them into reclaiming it over and over again. Now, they're about to face a group of famous invaders for you and are nervous despite what they may say otherwise. Yet, they will follow your lead and fight them nevertheless. That's how I feel."

For a moment, it was almost like old times. When Arthur had fallen into doubt and Merlin would pull some great wisdom that would surprise him about his...friend.

"Thank you Merlin." He went to pick up his jacket and take it to the laundry basket but it suddenly flew off and landed neatly there itself. He looked at Merlin with a raised eye but he just raised his shoulders with a playful glint in his eyes. "Speaking of which, what happened out there with Kay and Galahad?"

Merlin backed away until he set himself down in a chair. "I don't know. I talked to them some more afterwards but I couldn't change their minds. I still don't get some of what they said."

"What did they say?"

"They said that this wasn't their fight. That this wasn't the first time Camelot had been invaded by an invading army and it won't be the last. That there will always be times like this and Camelot will have to overcome it or fall to it like any kingdom with what they have. It's the way of rulers."

"Quite the philosophy." said Arthur in a drawling voice.

"I even asked them why they wouldn't accept after you made that offer of freedom."

"Why? I thought that was what you all wanted in the first place?"

"I know. It is. But, they just said that you lifting the ban was what I wanted. Not what they all wanted. I didn't understand but they just left it at that."

Arthur didn't understand either. "Maybe...maybe you shouldn't have volunteered yourself like that. I don't want to put you in a tight spot. Your position is still new."

"I've always been in a tight spot Arthur. We all have a right to choose to fight or not to. I may not like their choice but I can't force them to do anything. I guess that is why they made the treaty with the Druids before. They could get them to do what they wanted, but they have too much respect for them to do that. I have to respect them too."

"I do appreciate that they said that they I have their respect. I should return it in kind and respect their decision. They aren't my people technically. I can't expect them to fight for the kingdom especially when they spent most of their lives being against it."

He then let out a deep stressful breath. "Maybe, we're worrying over nothing. It could be that I'm enough to handle the magic of the vikings. I've been working harder than I've ever been and I'm a lot more powerful than ever. After meeting the Order of the Bear, how strong could these men be?"

Arthur smiled at that. "And you called me an arrogant prat?"

"Well, I did learn from the best." After they laughed a little to themselves, Merlin went to excuse himself

"Merlin," he said before Merlin could reach the door. "I still appreciate you helping us. Even though it'll just be you...I'll still honor what I said earlier today and fully lift the ban."

* * *

**End of Chapter 6**

A/N: A little history lesson. The vikings were people that occasionally invading the british and irish isles. They were regarded with fear for their brutality and their love for war and conquest. I want to know how you guys feel about the new issues to come between Merlin with Kay and Galahad. Believe me, it's a deep issue and I'll reveal it in time but I want to hear your thoughts on it now.

It seems that this whole week I am going to be free from going to work. Power has been knocked out for all of Lower Manhattan and even Midtown so I had lots of new free time. With not much to do, I was able to work on the last and this chapter more than I usually could. I at least hope that those of you outside Sandy's path had a good Halloween.

_Atgyweirio_ - Repair


	7. The Terrible Angus

**Dangers in the Path to Destiny**

A/N: I am really liking series 5. I hope you all are too. I hope you're ready to see some bad things coming for our favorite pair. Well, I'm back to work now so these frequent updates within a week are going to slow again. Power and transportation is nearly back to normal in New York after Sandy's rampage last week. Oh well, the free time was good while I had it.

* * *

_The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on_.

~ Ulysses S. Grant

* * *

Chapter 7: The Terrible Angus

The city was abuzz as Camelot's streets were full of people in red soldier garments getting ready to mobilize with the king. It had been two days since the news of this invasion had reached the city and now the kingdom was preparing for war. The forges were springing to full life as the weapons and armor were being repaired and lustered to perfection. Some people were choosing to leave the city but many more were entering to be secure within the safety of its walls. Messages were being sent out for troops to prepare for the small army advancing from the northern port heading for Camelot.

Arthur dispatched scouts to track the movements of the Vikings and reported that they were moving at quite the steady going pace. They hardly let up their advance except when they had to stop for sleep. They were an army without horses, pure infantry. Judging from what they reported from the size Arthur thought they were either very brave or very foolish with the numbers that they had. Or perhaps they were confident with the apparent magic they had on their side.

Merlin was told of what was reported by the scouts as well. His involvement was made known to all the knights and to the council. Although, the news of his assistance in this was met with mixed reactions. Quite a few knights were happy and grateful for Merlin and his powerful magic to help them against the Vikings. Whenever those people saw him, as they passed, they would nod their heads and say simple things like.

"Thanks for the assist."

"Great to have you with us."

"We'll show those vikings now."

Then there were the others. The other knights who were still hostile towards magic as well as the stuffy lords that still gave him and the others a hard time because of their ties to magic. As for Merlin's help, they were more skeptical than grateful. When he saw them, he bit back reactions to,

"We'll be watching you."

"You don't fool us."

"Don't forget what side you're on."

However, the reaction that had Merlin really on edge was that of Kay and Galahad. The day right before they were all set to ride out and engage the Vikings, the two of them were in their room packing up.

"What's going on here?" he asked as he saw them packing a small bag for each of them.

"We're going to head back for Albion." said Galahad simply as he put on of his shirts into the bag.

"Now? It's still a few weeks until the regular report back."

"We know, but with this war...we have no place here now."

Kay nodded in agreement before he turned to tie his bag up. "When it's over, come back to Albion and seek us out and we'll return to our duty here."

"Are you really sure you don't have a duty here now?" Merlin asked as Kay sat on his bed facing him while Galahad finished up.

"Merlin, our duty is to Albion and that duty isn't needed here as Camelot won't need us to watch them for our city's safety." Kay then went to put on his Order robes and light armor.

"I...I might not understand. No, I really don't understand. Yet, I still have news relating to that duty. It turns out that even if it is only me, Arthur has promised that after this is all settled...he will completely lift the ban on magic in Camelot. This means that the duty to keep such a tense tab on Camelot's dealings relating to Albion will become unnecessary."

Galahad finished packing what he needed and tied his bag. "Congratulations Merlin. You got what you've been seeking. We're happy for you, truly we are." His words were sincere but Merlin could still see some...pity stuck in there?

Pity, why would Galahad pity him at all? "You mean, we'll get what we want. Isn't that what all the people of Albion wants? What everyone of magic in these land want? To not have to be hunted and be able to live in peace?"

"That is what we want," said Kay. "Believe me, we all want that more than anything."

"But this," said Galahad. "What we are about to get from Arthur...that isn't what we want. It's what you want."

Again, Merlin was confused. Arthur was giving them what they wanted yet it's not what they want but what he wants? Merlin was lost more by his own thoughts than Galahad's words now.

"You lost me." he said being completely honest with his confusion.

"You'll find it," Galahad said following Kay's move to put on his robes and light armor. "I just hope that it doesn't hit you hard when you do."

Merlin cleared his head of it. It was going to drive him up the wall if he thought on it any longer. "Anyway," he said turning away from that issue. "You want me to get two horses ready for you?"

"No, it's okay," said Kay stepping out of the changing screen fully dressed up. "We know that Camelot will need every horse they can for their men. We're not in any hurry. We'll walk back to the city."

"Besides," Galahad said from behind his screen. "This will give me some time to find something for Clara's birthday before we reach home."

"Say hi to her and Garrett for me." He had met Clara and their son Garrett and they were some pretty great people.

Galahad gave a chuckle as he put his arms though the sleeves of his robe. "Don't worry. I will."

Merlin decided to head out to let them finish in peace.

"Merlin," said Kay before he could leave. "Be careful out there."

"Thanks," said Merlin. "But I'll be okay. I can handle just about anything now."

"I hope you're right Merlin." said Galahad stepping out almost fully dressed. "We may not agree with what you're doing, but we still don't want anything to happen to you."

* * *

Arthur and his men slowly rode their horses with a little over seven hundred men. This kind of force wasn't up to the same level as the one that was amassed last year but it was still pretty impressive. When up against a force as notorious as the Vikings then it seemed necessary. Arthur hoped that when they saw that they were outnumbered like this, he could have them just leave his kingdom. If they didn't...then they would be left with no choice.

Merlin was riding by Arthur though he wasn't wearing his Albion robes or even Camelot's colors. He was back to wearing his old brown jacket, blue shirt and red neckerchief. It felt like old times then except for the fact that, now, he wouldn't have to be subtle anymore. Arthur kept glancing at him whenever he felt Merlin wasn't looking though Merlin noticed them every single time and Arthur passed it off as taking in the area. Merlin tried not to laugh after every time.

"You nervous?" Merlin asked after the sixth time he did that.

Arthur narrowed his eyes at Merlin like he just told a bad joke. "Merlin, you know this isn't the first time I've gone into battle. I think it should be me asking that."

"Arthur," he copying his tone and even his facial expression. "You know this isn't the first time I've gone with you into battle."

Arthur just rolled his eyes. "That was a horrible imitation."

"Really? I thought it was accurate."

Hurried horse steps brought their attention back to the front of them and they saw that it was one of Arthur's scouts.

"Sire."

"What news," he asked.

"The Vikings have stopped in the clearing that is just ahead. They just stopped advancing suddenly. It's like they're waiting for us."

"Hmm...they must have their own scouts watching us that we couldn't see."

"What now sire?" asked Gwaine who was right behind him.

Arthur was puzzled. If the Vikings had been watching them why wouldn't they keep advancing to try and take an advantage of a surprise attack. They were surrounded by trees and boulders to hide themselves. They had to know that their numbers were lower than theirs. "Let's move. It is better that we engage them on an open field. There is no chance of ambush there as opposed to where we are now."

Perhaps they were overconfident with their reputation and their magic. Luckily, Camelot's knights and army had their own reputation. And...they had an undoubtedly powerful warlock on their side.

* * *

But that was the problem.

"Vortigern," Angus said grasping his king's arm and stopping him.

"What is it Angus?"

"I'm...sensing something heading our way. It's powerful and it's steadily coming towards us."

Mordred glanced at the direction Angus pointed. It was just ahead of them towards Camelot. "That must be Emrys. Arthur Pendragon's pet sorcerer."

Vortigern looked towards Angus. "Can you handle him?"

Angus just smiled. "If he doesn't hold back, probably not. But...he doesn't know of my full power or about mine, Nemain's or Mab's little secret. Unless, the wretched Order of the Bear told him."

"I doubt they would. They would have no reason to bring up such bad memories over lunch," Vortigern mused. "As long as they don't see us then they can't warn him. Though I sincerely doubt that any of them would be marching with Arthur's men or that of any king against another ruler. It's not their way."

"Then the advantage is ours." Angus smirked. The advantage would truly be with them over this one sorcerer no matter how powerful propaganda or sacred writings said of him.

"If you're that sure then I know I don't have anything to worry about. You've always known the right time to fight and run Angus. I wouldn't be here today if you and the others didn't."

"Glad to here that sire. Mordred," he said turning to their young protege. "Put your hood down. We shouldn't reveal what or who is on our side until the time to strike arrives."

He followed Angus' advice as both of them both their hoods up. As they did, Vortigern raised his hands up to signal his men. "Stop here!"

Everyone looked around at the spot that the King suggested to stop at. It was an open clearing.

"Here my lord?" one of his officers asked.

"Yes...here," he said with a smile.

"What do you have in mind Vortigern?" asked Mordred.

"This is the perfect place for our surprise attack."

"But, wouldn't a surprise attack be where there is ample cover? Here, everything is seen and there is no way for you men to have an edge against them."

"Exactly Mordred. An area with a surplus of cover will have their senses honed in for the slightest sound to signal an ambush where there is no chance of one on an open field. Which is why they won't be ready or expecting the ultimate ambush I have in store for them."

The three of them looked back at the cloaking illusion of Nemain's that followed their force. The one that hid the full force of their army and its true power.

"You-you are brilliant sire."

"Thank you my boy. Men!," he said adjusting his tone for his batallion. "Prepare yourselves for battle!"

The Vikings stripped off the furs that they had draped around them. They slipped off to reveal the true visage of the renowned Vikings.

* * *

Galahad and Kay stepped out into the courtyard to be leaving the citadel for the city and beyond for Albion. They were halfway across when they heard a shout behind them.

"Wait." It was Guinevere.

"My lady," Kay said with a bow.

"You're leaving already?" she asked as she came to meet them.

"We are," said Galahad. "A war being brought to Camelot has nothing to do with us. It would be best if we were back in Albion to attend to our duties there until our duty back here calls us back."

"Galahad," she said before he could turn away. "Kay, you don't have to leave. You shouldn't. No one said that you should leave."

Galahad looked down at her. "We know Gem," he said patting her shoulder. "But we aren't truly needed here for Albion at the moment so we should get going. Besides, I have someone's birthday to celebrate back home."

"Merlin can come and get us when it's all over." said Kay.

"I can understand that we aren't exactly the best of hosts for you but I do want to say that I did like having you two around."

They looked at her and gave her a small smile. "It's nice of you to say that Queen Guinevere...even if you don't really mean it." said Kay.

"What?"

But they didn't respond to that as they went on to beginning leaving the city.

* * *

The flow of red from Camelot's men came out of the distant woods and spilled onto the fields. The Vikings on the other side of the field stood stiff and at attention. Arthur got a good first glimpse of the Vikings and his first impulse was to believe the rumors about them. The Viking army all had black metal helmets that had horns on either side of them that made them all look like a brigade of horned man beasts. They had on red trousers with a line of black fur at the sides. They had pale green colored crosses of leather going across their chests but no shirts underneath them. Their bodies were well toned, their arms were firm and most of them were large in size. Some looked even bigger than Percival and it gave them an even more brutal look to them.

Amongst all the muscle were people in pale green cloaks to match the Vikings' leather. There were about five or six that Arthur could see close to the front of these men. No doubt they were the sorcerers that they had on their side. They didn't seem that impressive. Not next to all these giants surrounding them.

To the front of all these men were three figures. To either side of the one in the middle were two men wearing pale green cloaks too, only these cloaks had what looked like black vines with thorns wrapped all around them. No doubt they were a velvet or leather material sown on to look like vines were wrapping them. They had their hoods up so he couldn't see their faces but Arthur couldn't help for some reason suppressing a shiver at them. In the center was a man in royal battle robes and mail and was wearing a shining golden crown on his head. A Viking King. He seemed to be around his own age and he seemed to be strong though not giant strong like his army. His hair was black and he was slightly pale looking but was fearlessly looking back at the opposition.

They stopped the respected distance from the Vikings and lined themselves up perfectly. "Alright, I'm going to meet with their king. Leon, Percival and Merlin, you three will come with me."

"Sire," they said getting off their horses.

"Be careful Arthur," said Elyan.

"We'll be alright. Hopefully, I can persuade them to leave with their lives. Their king doesn't seem as dangerous as his men. Watch out for them."

As Arthur and his chosen stepped forward, the Vikings had their king, the two thorn robed men and one of their viking giants approaching to meet them half way. They stopped within two meters of each other.

Arthur chose to speak first. "I am Arthur Pendragon. King of Camelot."

The other man smirked a little. "I am Vortigern Tregor. King of the Western Norselands."

At the introduction, Arthur's heart jumped a beat. As did Merlin's. The House of Tregor were the ones that held the crown of Eire before the Order of the Bear defeated them.

"Tregor? As in-"

"Yes...I'm sure you've heard about my family," Vortigern said cutting Arthur off. "If I'm not mistaken...you had trained with my older brother a few years ago."

Merlin looked at Arthur in surprise. He didn't know that. With what they learned of Albion and their war on Eire, he was sure that Arthur would've mentioned something like that at some time.

"Prince Robert. I didn't know he had a younger brother. Truth be told, I didn't know he had an older sister until a few years ago."

"Ah, yes. A troll impersonating my sister. I did hear about that." he said with a small laugh. "I hope it at least did her justice."

"I think that's enough pleasantries Vortigern. Why are you here with your army?"

Vortigern surely didn't look like he was done with pleasantries because he still had a pleasant look to his face. "Arthur, I'm sure that an army should tell you the answer already. I'm here for a war."

"Why? Our two houses have long been allies."

Now the pleasant smile he had was wiped off. "Well, not anymore. And speaking of allies...I hear you've struck a treaty with some of my old enemies. The people of Albion. That struck me as odd as your family's contempt for magic was infamous."

"We have made peace with them. I don't think you have a right to be judging anything as it looks like you have magic on your side right here."

He smiled again. "Now...who ever said that my family ever frowned on magic? In fact, my uncle and even my brother Robert practiced magic as well."

"What?"

"Yes," he said with a joyful chuckle. "Imagine that, the young man that sparred with you back then and who your father invited to his table was a skillful sorcerer. My family always found that to be quite the ironic joke."

Arthur pushed down the slightly grim feeling he had at being made a fool of. Now wasn't the time for that. "Well, things have changed now. We are in a truce with Albion now and it's citizens. If this is about that."

"Please," he said cutting him off again. "This isn't as trivial as that. I'm seeking an empire and your kingdom is simply on the list of land I want to add to it. If it makes you feel better, the whole of these lands are in my sight."

"This is ridiculous. Vortigern, you must see sense. You are outnumbered and there is no way that I will allow you to get farther then this clearing. Your army will be destroyed before you will claim one more blade of grass."

"We'll see about that."

He turned to leave when Merlin decided that he couldn't just stand back any more. "You must be overly confident in the magic that you have at your side but I will tell you now that I won't let them interfere."

"Really?" Vortigern said turning to face him. Arthur and Merlin didn't know that he was playing dumb about his magic. "And exactly who are you to do such a thing?"

"I'm Merlin. I'm Albion's new ambassador."

"Really? A new Albion." He looked him up and down. "You must be new. I've never seen you before."

"I'm with Arthur and Camelot. I was placed as Albion's ambassador by Lord Connor and if you do know him then you should know he doesn't do that with just anyone."

"You don't look anything special. Not like Connor, or Kalen or even Caleb. And you're right by the King of Camelot's side as well? I've seen mightier sorcerers than yourself."

"Believe me...I'm more powerful than I look."

"Really?" said one of the cloaked men "I'd like to test that for myself."

"Now, Angus, calm yourself."

Merlin saw an opening. "Wait, why not. If Angus wants to battle me, why not. What if the two of us battle? If I win, you Vortigern take your army and leave."

The sorcerer, Angus, stepped forward. "And if I win?"

Merlin looked at Arthur. He bit his lip slightly trying to think. He didn't have to though.

"If Angus wins," said Vortigern. "Then my army charges." He looked at Arthur. "What say you Arthur Pendragon? If your friend loses, you'll still have a chance to fight against me and stop me. Either I leave or you still fight me. Clearly, you have the better deal."

Arthur narrowed his eyes at Vortigern. This didn't seem right. "Excuse us for a moment." He pulled Merlin back and they stepped back a little with Leon and Percival covering them from Vortigern and his party.

"Something isn't right Arthur." said Leon. "I smell a trap."

Arthur nodded. "Yes, me too. They make a deal for us to have victory and for them to still have to fight. I would understand if they tried to make it the same way for us but this?"

Merlin looked to the four of them. More specifically, he looked to the one that challenged him. Merlin chose to use something taught to him by the Order in his report before last to Albion. He opened his senses to him to try and sense his magic and he didn't feel much. This sorcerer Angus was giving off a small amount of the Old Religion's power. Not enough to make him worry even before he went through this new training. "What do you say Arthur?"

"I don't know. There's something about Vortigern I don't trust. He wouldn't make such a ridiculous deal if he wasn't confident."

"Arthur, it's okay. I can handle them."

"I don't doubt that," he said quickly. "I'm happy that you are so sure of winning but...I don't think they'll be honorable with you."

"Arthur, I sensed Vortigern's challenger. His power isn't that strong. I can handle him. Easily."

"Merlin, maybe you shouldn't. They know you're connected to Albion and Vortigern is one of their prime enemies. He might do whatever he can to take it out on you."

"Arthur," he said a little stiffly. "I can take care of myself. If this can save the lives of the men then I'll do it."

"Merlin," said Percival. "Are you sure? You shouldn't have that kind of pressure on you."

"Right, because this would be the first time that I was under this kind of pressure over the past year?"

"You don't have to do this Merlin," Leon insisted.

"No I do. I have a duty to Camelot as much as all of you. If you were in my position, I know you two would insist on doing this as much as I am right now."

"And when they did, I would insist that they leave the fate of the kingdom in a challenge like this to me. I did the same with Annis' challenge and I'll do the same with Vortigern's challenge."

"Arthur, Annis' champion wasn't a sorcerer. While I don't sense Angus to be as strong as me, he is strong enough to easily disarm you and then strike you down. You've seen me during training back at Camelot. You know I can do this."

Arthur tried to stamp out what Merlin was saying. He made a lot of sense though he wouldn't admit that he was. Merlin was definitely powerful as the sight of him being a human bird came back into his memory. That wall of magic that he made to block their army and Albion's during their stay there. All that screamed that Merlin was capable of prevailing here. He closed his eyes and breathed out before opening them again. "Okay."

* * *

While all that had been going on, Vortigern was speaking with Angus, Mordred and his batallion's officer.

"What do you think they'll choose?" the officer asked.

Mordred glanced at Arthur and Emrys before turning to them. "They'll choose to fight. To try and avoid a war. Emrys will try and do what he can to save Arthur."

"And Arthur will take any chance he can to avoid a full war himself," said Vortigern. "I can't believe he is Uther's son. Defeating the Vikings with such low appearing numbers. Uther would've jumped at a chance for that kind of glory and power." He went and focused on Arthur. "It's almost a pity."

"Vortigern, I could sense that warlock trying to weigh how much power I had." Angus' lips curled into a small smile from beneath his hood. "Though it looked like he only sensed for the meager powers of the Old Religion I possess."

"He didn't sense your...better power?" the king asked.

Angus shook his head. "If he knew how to sense it, I think he would've reacted a little more shaken or angry with me than this. If the attitudes of the Order of the Bear were anything to go by."

"Sire," said the officer. "They're heading back to us."

Vortigern stayed in front of them while their opponents came back from their private meeting. "Well? Do we have a bargain Arthur?"

"It would seem that we do. Provided that no one interferes with Merlin and...Angus'," he said pointing to the right hooded man. "battle."

Angus stepped up from behind Vortigern and removed his hood. His slightly handsome face had a hungry look to it as he faced his future opponent. "Agreed."

They split off and headed to their respective men. Vortigern chuckled as he took a last look back at them.

"Angus, don't let me down out there."

"I won't sire." He opened and closed his fists and rubbed his fingers against his palm. "That Emrys is far too trusting of his meager magic of the Old Religion while I have real power flowing through my veins. He's never faced the likes of me."

"Yes...but, if it looks like you might need help, Mordred?"

"Don't worry Vortigern. It will be good for me to actually use Emrys' own tactics against him."

* * *

A blast came for Merlin and it collided with his shield. It had been over a minute and Merlin clearly dominated the fight. He hardly broke a sweat out there. However, the same couldn't be said for Camelot's men. The army behind him was nervously watching their ally tower over his adversary. The ones that were on Merlin's side were worrying for his safety in fighting an actual sorcerer. The ones that didn't like him were just worried that Merlin wouldn't be able to pull through for their sakes. The one that was sweating the most, even though he will insist he wasn't was Arthur. It wasn't the duel of magic he was seeing, it was the reaction or lack of reaction from the Vikings. Their man was being outclassed and yet, the Vikings and Vortigern didn't look disturbed at all. In fact, they looked like they were on edge and waiting for something to happen. Was Merlin in danger? Should he do something? No, he knew the rules. If he were in the same position and fighting to keep his men safe, he wouldn't like interference himself and he bet Merlin wouldn't either.

Merlin had been completely on the defensive the entire fight and merely canceled or deflected any spell Angus threw at him. He was surprised that Angus wasn't getting angry at that. In fact, he seemed to be as calm as he was when the battle started. He didn't know whether to be scared or impressed with his ability of keeping calm under pressure. Merlin was confident about winning this fight but he still was a little on edge with it being the first time he was truly fighting for Arthur and Camelot out in the open. He knew Arthur showed his opponents mercy and tried to offer the same thing.

"Angus, I can do this all day. You clearly are no match for me. You don't have to keep doing this. Just surrender and you can leave with all your comrades."

Angus just cracked a wicked grin that somehow seemed so natural on himself. "Please. Only one of us is coming out on top here."

Merlin felt pity for this stubborn fool. "I tried to give you a way to escape your fate."

"_**Ton o Bridd**_" Angus' spell made a earthy wave as if it were water and it was twice Merlin's height. "Escape from that."

It was big enough to bury Merlin but he decided enough was enough. He said the incantation in his mind and then flew straight up out of the way. The wave collapse down on the spot where he stood to make one big mole hill. Merlin just hovered about thirty feet in the air with his arms relaxing at his sides.

"I'm not going to give you another chance Angus. Just surrender and go."

Suddenly, Merlin heard a voice in his head. "_Now's your chance Angus. Get him now_." It was mindspeech, and this voice. Merlin recognized the tone of it. It was deeper but he knew it was familiar.

"_Yes_," Angus thought back. "_I think it's finally time to be serious and let Emrys know just what he's dealing with._"

Just then the air around Angus blew a little violently when he shot straight up from the ground and went at Merlin like a comet. Merlin was taken aback and was then struck right at the face by one of Angus' fists. Merlin stumbled downwards for a moment before he reclaimed his focus. Merlin had a red welt on the left side of his face that would undoubtedly bruise but he was more surprised with the sight in front of him. Angus was in the air with him and he seemed in complete control. But, Merlin didn't understand how. The magic he had sensed in Angus wasn't enough for him to take flight. Even now, he couldn't sense any vibrating magic out of him to keep him in flight. How was this possible?

"_Surprised Emrys? You should be_." It was mindspeech again and this time it was directed at him.

"_Where are you_?" he said softly but he knew whoever it was could still hear him.

"_Where you usually are when you betrayed our kind. Right by my king's side_. _How does it feel when it's the other way around Emrys_?" Merlin looked down at Vorigern and noticed the other figure in the cloak with thorns. Wait, he knew who it was. Only one person would call him Emrys in that tone.

"Merlin!" It was Arthur. "Behind you!"

Merlin's gaze left the ground and he turned around to see Angus ricocheting for him again but this time, his fist had a sickly green glow around it. Merlin shot straight up and barely dodged it. The energy in Angus fist grazed the laces on Merlin's boots though. This wasn't good. Somehow, Angus was even faster than him. To be fair, he knew that Connor, Flint, Kalen and five others in the Order were faster than him in the air. But he thought they were the limit. He didn't imagine that the Vikings would have such a sorcerer at their side.

He couldn't let this go on. It was clear that he had underestimated his foe and had tried to be tricked. He had to take out Angus so that he can stop the threat still on the ground with Arthur. He wanted to know how Angus was doing this all this but he would worry about it later. "_**Gwynt: Rhwygo i Fyny fy Gelyn**_!" A vicious twister suddenly appeared and Merlin threw it towards Angus who was just turning back to face Merlin. It went for him quickly and it didn't look like he would raise a defense in time.

"_**Rhwystr.**_" It wasn't Angus' spell. Merlin could tell it came from below. A golden dome encased around Angus and protected him as the twister battered against it and then died out.

"Hey!" he shouted.

When the wind cleared up, Merlin saw Angus with his arm extended. "_**Ergyd o Anhrefn**_!"

A pale green stream of magic came shooting at Merlin but he was ready unlike Angus was. "_**Rhwystr**_." A golden dome surrounded Merlin this time to stand up to the shot. Yet, when it collided with him, Merlin suddenly felt cold. He could instantly hear screams from a distance and fear his heart and spine almost turn to ice instantly. What sort of magic was this? Merlin felt himself going limp. The shield went down and he started to go down as well.

Angus shot to be right above Merlin and extended both his hands out. "_**Bolltau Mellt**_" Five streams of lightning escaped his open palms and they struck Merlin and enveloped his body with sparks.

Merlin did feel pain from the spell but the worst of it was that the cold and depressing feeling from before came back and intensified. The pain from that hurt him worst then the one his body was feeling.

"Merlin!" Arthur watched as Merlin body glowed evilly from Angus' attack and then hit the ground. Merlin wasn't moving at all from where he lay and Arthur was hoping that he wasn't now staring at his friend's corpse.

He didn't have much time to panic as nearly as soon as Merlin hit the ground. "Charge!"

Vortigern shouted the order and his army went for Camelot's army. Arthur unsheathed Excalibur and charged forward and his men followed suit. Yet Arthur wasn't going for Vortigern. He was heading for Merlin's body and so were Leon, Percival, Gwaine, Tristan and Elyan.

* * *

**End of Chapter 7**

A/N: I hoped you liked this chapter. I know I did. The reason Angus beat Merlin will soon be revealed in time as Angus, Mab and Nemain have a terrible power within themselves that is of the most evil. I can't wait for when you guys find out what it is. I think you will be chilled about it. And Mordred, using Merlin's discreet assisting moves and tactics against him. Well, if it worked for him all these years then it obviously could work against him. As for Merlin, Galahad and Kay did tell Merlin a few chapters ago that he should practice flying more before becoming physical with it. A little foretelling for what was to happen.

I also saw the latest episode, The Desir, and I have to say that Merlin really botched everything up now. Not only has he condemned magic but he condemned Camelot and Arthur too. I wonder how it will keep going south from there. Anyway, tell me what you guys think of this.

_Ton o Bridd_ - Wave of Earth

_Rhwystr_ - Barrier

_Gwynt: Rhwygo i Fyny fy Gelyn_ - Wind: Tear up my Enemy

_Ergyd o Anhrefn_ - Shot of Mayhem

_Bolltau Mellt_- Lightning Bolts


	8. War over Peace

**Dangers in the Path to Destiny**

A/N: I am glad there was so many quick hits with my last chapter. As for this one, it's among one of my longest. The war continues and the story is still young.

* * *

_No triumph of peace is quite so great as the supreme triumph of war_.

~Theodore Roosevelt

* * *

Chapter 8: War Over Peace

Arthur had been watching intently when Merlin took flight with utmost confidence. He knew how good he was as he had always seen him train with Galahad and Kay. Beforehand, Merlin looked like we was in complete control of Angus. Merlin blocked every spell and magic that was sent to him like Arthur did to conscript blows. When Merlin went into the air, he couldn't help but think that now there was nothing that could stop their warlock now. That was until that sorcerer, Angus, went into the air after him. He was fast, he blinked and Angus was somewhere else entirely. He could see that Merlin was also surprised and he looked a little distracted. He felt annoyed at Merlin that out of all times for him to let his mind wander he chooses to do it in the middle of a battle. It didn't seem to last long because Merlin suddenly seemed to have a strong focus come over him and tried to end the fight quickly. Merlin seemed to still have the upper hand and tried to finish Angus off until he surprised him with a magical looking shield. Then Angus shot that spell of light at him and even though it looked like Merlin stopped it, when it was over he looked pale and sweaty. Like he had gotten sick from just defending himself. He vaguely wondered what spell he was hit with before Merlin started sinking back down. Then he was hit with that bit of lightning from Angus' hands and hit the ground.

Vortigern hadn't wasted any time and had called for a charge as soon as Merlin apparently lost the fight. Arthur charged himself though he went for Merlin's body. He refused to believe that he was gone. Merlin was too annoying for him to be gone that easily. When he got to him he checked him and saw that he was still breathing though he was very weak.

"He's alive," he breathed out in intense relief.

"Good."

Arthur looked behind him to see that his best knights had followed him to check on Merlin also. They looked to be just as concerned as he did for their unconventional friend. Around them, Camelot's army was engaging the Viking army and the rings of steel echoed all over the valley. While Camelot did have the advantage of numbers over these soldiers, each one of the Vikings did have great strength and brutality and they more than held their own. And that's what made it even more terrible. Blood splattered from the Viking's attacks and colored the green grass with dark splatters of red. The soldiers of Camelot made cleaner strikes against the Viking soldiers in turn but unless they were critically fatal, the Vikings would hack away at them more until they breathed their true last breaths. One soldier from Camelot got his life choked out of him after he severed a Viking's right arm off with the man's left. Not to mention the added edge of magic in their corner. The other sorcerer in thorns led his kin in assaulting any unfortunate knight and soldier of Camelot with violent bursts of magical attack. Smaller spectacles were done by the other robed men in the Viking mix.

"Yes. Beautiful, isn't it?" It was Vortigern. He had his sword drawn but he was completely calm. He gestured to the sight of all the fighting going on around him. Angus was by his side.

Arthur stood up and stared him down. He stood behind Merlin and tried to shield him from Angus who was smirking at them. His knights had their swords all drawn and were eying their three enemies with supreme focus. All except Percival, he went and took Merlin's unconscious form and carried him on his back.

Arthur narrowed his eyes with such disgust. "You think all this is beautiful?" he asked in such a disbelieving tone. "It's despicable."

Vortigern wasn't fazed at all. "It's War Arthur Pendragon. If there is one thing our fathers had in common, it's appreciating the beauty and love for it. Why do you think they were such close allies?"

"My father may have had his faults but he would never deliberately wish war on his people."

Vortigern just scoffed. "Please, we are both talking about the same Uther Pendragon right? I know for a fact that he loved the prospect of war and jumped at any opportunity he could find to increase his power." He smiled as a soldier from Camelot had his chest cut through and blood darkened the earth where he fell.

"You are deranged Vortigern."

"Why?" asked Angus as he put his hands to his waist. "Isn't it the truth?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked the sorcerer while strongly resisting the urge to spit at him.

"After all, isn't the reason that Camelot is thought to be the most strongest and wealthiest of the five kingdoms on this island because of your father's War Against Magic? Eliminating the Old Religion priests and priestesses. Destroying the Isle of the Blessed. Annihilating the Bloodguard. Destroying the Dragons and Dragonlords. Conquering nearly all renowned masters of various magical fields. Who wouldn't try and pledge loyalty and ally with a kingdom with that in their name? The glory and power of the kingdom you take such pride in...it all came from war, not peace." Angus looked at Arthur like he had just simplified something for a small child.

Arthur found himself mute for a moment. While Arthur now had a true grasp of what happened in the Great Purge, having it all listed and said that way by this evil man made his kingdom sound...wicked.

"I take it that you despise Camelot for all that yourself?" asked Leon since Arthur was frozen for a moment.

"Please," Angus said rolling his eyes. "I could care less about any of that. In fact, my friends and I always wanted to give personal thanks to Camelot for all of that. Good riddance to magical rubbish."

Now that made all the knights nearly step back in shock. Every time they had come up against a sorcerer, even the Albions, they never neglected to mention the "crimes" Camelot committed against them. Yet, it appeared Angus could care less. He, a sorcerer, actually wanted to thank them for the Great Purge.

Vortigern took over for his magical friend. "War leads one to greater power. Angus understands that as do I. Yet...you Arthur, ever since you can ascended the throne you always are doing everything you can to avoid it. Why? For peace. Peace is weakness. Why? Why try and stop this?" he said over a scream of someone losing their head.

"Peace doesn't make you weak," Arthur argued.

"Tell that to your friend," Angus said pointing to the still unconscious Merlin. "The mighty Emrys. Maybe you think peace is strong because you have this legendary practicioner on your side though it looks like it didn't pay off as well as you thought. Obviously, the stories of his power were greatly exaggerated. Though, it could just be his brains for battle. If he didn't have some degree of great power then my last spell would've killed him for sure."

"You tricked him, didn't you?" asked Percival with a scowl as he tightened his grip on the warlock. "He told us he sensed your power and said it was weak but what we saw wasn't weak."

"Of course," Angus said smiling gleefully at them. "I knew he could've beaten me if he had a true grasp of my power. Unlike him, I actually have brains for war."

That insult towards Merlin seemed to be the last straw as Gwaine took his sword and charged at Angus. Angus wasn't concerned at all and simply flung his wrist and Gwaine flew off and collided with Elyan and Tristan.

Vortigern made a gesture to some nearby Vikings. "Attack."

Percival stayed back while the rest of them engaged the Vikings. Each of them felt the brute strength behind each intercepted strike. The exposed muscles on these guys rippled and the veins were greatly visible on their arms as they struck at Arthur and his knights. As Arthur fought his opponent, he saw that these Vikings truly had heavy brute strength but they were still only brutes. Arthur had fought warriors such as these before and he was ready to fight against more. He sidestepped to the right from the Viking while he brought his sword down at him. The Viking missed a blow that might've cut Arthur down the middle and Arthur quickly jousted his blade right at the Viking's gut. The Viking spurted a little as he looked at the blade imbedded in him before clenching his teeth and slamming his left palm at Arthur's chest and making him land on his back and pulling his sword out as he fell. The viking staggered a little but he raised his sword and went for Arthur while he was still on the ground. Arthur rolled to the left and barely dodged the blow before taking Excalibur and sticking it into the Viking again but in the neck. This time, the Viking spat some blood out before he fell down for good this time.

Arthur had to admit that just that one was tough. The Vikings really were worthy of their fearsome reputation. Arthur chanced looking about and saw that his fellow knights were having as much trouble as he did. He looked about the battlefield and saw bodies of both Camelot's army and the Norse army's were spread about on the field. It looked like their greater numbers weren't giving them the strong advantage he had first thought but they were still winning nevertheless. Arthur stood up and calmed his breathing as, one by one, his most trusted knights felled each Viking they were up against.

Arthur stepped up in front of his men with Excalibur firmly in his hands and leered at the two warmongers. They had been watching them fight with ease and still didn't seemed fazed that they had failed to kill them. "You may have been able to trick Merlin but it won't work twice. Also, we knew who we were fighting before the battle. Your tricks won't fool me."

"If you only knew how stupid you just sounded Pendragon. Besides...who said this first time was done?" asked Vortigern. "Now for the part that's for you." He looked at Angus and nodded.

Angus' eyes glowed a pale green and he shot a light to the sky that matched it. The light went off like a firework but nothing seemed to happen from it."

"Was that supposed to scare me?" asked Arthur.

"No, but this might," Vortigern said pointing behind him.

The background seemed to ripple like it was a reflection in a vertical sky high pool of water. The scenery was moving back and forth rather violently. Arthur rubbed his eyes with his free hand to make sure that he wasn't seeing things but it turns out he wasn't. The ripples soon calmed and all of a sudden, the sight made Arthur's blood run cold. Now, there was more Vikings, at least three times as many as Vortigern had. But that wasn't all, there were creatures mixed in with the soldiers. Giants, or some other brutish creatures with grayish skin and big clubs were on the ground and the air had winged creatures hovering above them and stretching to the sky. About half of them were scaly looking human shaped creatures while the others were feather winged bird monsters with horse behinds.

"What?" Arthur said almost inaudibly.

Vortigern adjusted the crown on his brow a little. "Looks like our tricks do work on you after all."

Arthur would've responded but the sight of the Vortigern's hidden reinforcements began advancing for them. "RETREAT! FALL BACK!" he shouted moving back while still facing Vortigern.

Nearby knights heard Arthur's order and signaled for the men to start the retreat. They could all see the reason for the order clearly and didn't want to argue one bit with it.

Vortigern looked towards Arthur's retreated figure and he started walking calmly towards him with Angus at his side. "Contact Mordred. I am a man of my word especially to my friends."

Angus focused and felt out Mordred in all the commotion. "_Mordred_," Angus shouted in his head. "_Take your chance now_."

Mordred looked back towards them as he took his sword out of a Camelot soldier's corpse. He locked his sights on Arthur Pendragon. Immediately, the images of his old mentor and surrogate father Aglain and his role model Alvarr flew through his mind. He felt power suddenly flow into his being as the promise of revenge against the one that made his lose both. He thought to the most lethal spell he ever learned in his life. "_**Lladd fy ngelyn**_!" A strip of light erupted from his palm and shot for Arthur. Mordred dropped to one knee at the power of this spell but he smiled as it was well worth the exhaustion.

The spell shot for Arthur and he stepped up to intercept it. Vaguely, he wondered just how much he would do against such a spell with just a sword and couldn't help but think: Is this it? The spell collided with Excalibur and Arthur braced for the pain of this magic to destroy him. Yet, when the spell made contact with his blade, it seemed to be truly blocked before Arthur pushed and deflected it away. He made it shoot straight up like a firework. For a second he, as well as any witnesses to the event, wondered how he had done that. Was it Merlin? Did he save him even though he was unconscious? Arthur then snapped back to reality and had his men move with him for their abandoned horses.

Mordred slammed his fist into the ground. His revenge, it was stopped. How? How the hell did Arthur survive? A spell like that couldn't be stopped by a mundane sword. Only magic could block it. Was it Emrys? No...it was impossible. Angus' spell intoxicated the very edges of his heart and soul and he wouldn't be able to recover for a while from that.

Even Angus was shocked. "What the?"

"Was that supposed to happen?" asked Vortigern.

"No," answered Angus. "Magic could only have done that."

"That warlock. Merlin, or Emrys or whoever. Could it have been him?"

"No," he answered quickly with a little bit of spite. "My magic will have knocked that feeble fool out for a while. He didn't do anything. Plus, a sword shouldn't be able to block a spell like that. Mordred's spell...only if his sword was a powerful enchanted blade could he have done something like that."

"Oh forget the spells. Just have them ripped to shreds."

Angus nodded and commanded his far off hippogriffs to charge for Camelot's king and troops. They all screeched and went for any nearby enemy they could get to. Some soldiers ran or rode faster as they came closer. Others stood firmed and prepared to strike at the creatures. However, as soon as they struck at them, their swords snapped in half on contact and spears folded into themselves. The confused men who tried to fight had only a second to wonder what happened before they were mauled or pecked to death by these creatures.

"EVERYONE FALL BACK!" Arthur yelled again as he reached his horse. Merlin was secured on his horse tightly and Arthur took its rein. His knights all got on their horses and they rode off, back to Camelot.

As the fighters for Camelot fled the battlefield, the hidden reinforcements met up with the survivors of Vortigern's first garrison and started a steady pace of slow and easy pursuit.

* * *

What remained of the previously impressive force was moving as quickly and safely as they could back to Camelot. The knights and soldiers were all sweaty, tired and scarred both inside and out and what they just experienced less than an hour ago. From what Arthur could see when he took a moment to analyze them, it seemed they only had 1/3 of the force he brought left. He just hoped most had either fallen slightly behind or had managed to get further ahead of them.

"What the hell just happened there?" shouted Elyan back at everyone when he found his voice again. "Why did weapons break on contact with those...things?"

"I think I know," said Arthur. He had seen that happen once before. It was years ago. Around the year he had first met up with Merlin. In his mind, replayed the scenes of battle against another magical bird creature that was immune to every blow and weapon thrown against it. "I've come across something like them before."

"What?" asked Gwaine.

"A few years ago, there was a creature that had attacked Camelot that was impervious to any weapon and attack we could throw at it. It was called a Griffin."

Leon's eyes lit up in recognition. "Yes, I remember that. Didn't Gaius say that it was a creature that could only be destroyed by magic?"

"Yes," he said. He remembered Gaius' tale of the creature and how his father had reacted to that particular news. He remembered how Lancelot had slain the beast but hadn't seen it himself though Merlin had. Given what he now knew about his former servant, of his magic, it all made sense now. He had always thought that Gaius had been mistaken and Lancelot had found a weakness that Gaius hadn't thought of. Yet, it seemed that Lancelot and Merlin had worked together to slay the beast and conveniently left out Merlin's role in it.

"Lancelot destroyed it, didn't he?" said Leon snapping Arthur back to the present.

"Yes...but it seems that he didn't do it alone," he said looking back at the unconscious form of Merlin. "These things didn't look exactly like griffins but something tells me they share that same thing in common." He looked back at the direction of the abandoned battlefield. "And, there are dozens of them this time."

"But..." said Percival. "if they could only be slain by magic then that means that"

"It means that nothing we do will stop them," finished Tristan.

"What about those other creatures?" asked Elyan. "Are they the same way?"

Gwaine shrugged. "I've never seen the likes of them before."

"Me neither," said Arthur. "But it's a strong possibility." He could see the same thought forming on all their faces. They were doomed. Aside from Merlin, there was no one in Camelot with the magic to defeat these things.

Leon didn't want to kick Arthur when he was down but there was something else that they had to consider. "Even if we didn't have these creatures to deal with, there is still the issue of all the Vikings under Vortigern's command. He tricked us. He had more men then he wanted us to think and we were completely overwhelmed."

"And not just from their sorcerers." Arthur took his mind from magic for a moment and went over to the non magical part of their problem. The Vikings. Just the contingent of men Vortigern brought were enough to make almost double the men against them have a hard time. He didn't want to believe those stories but it seemed they weren't fabrications at all. Arthur remembered that soldier he fought. He stuck his blade in him and the warrior seemed to brush it off and kept hacking away at him. It wasn't until he landed a death blow that he finally was stopped. Normally, a blow like the one Arthur dealt would've made any other man he fought double over in pain and surrender. "The Vikings were stronger than I thought they'd be."

Gwaine nodded pretty somberly. "I heard those stories myself but I never really took them to heart. That was worse than getting hit by you Percival."

Percival looked at Gwaine a little annoyed before he looked over at Arthur. "What can we do?"

"First, we have to get back and secure Camelot. We also have to send word to the other outposts to send word to our allies. Vortigern said he wanted to conquer all of our lands." Arthur then tightened his grip on Merlin's horse rein. "And we get this one back to Gaius. He'll know how to help him."

Elyan moved himself closer to Arthur. "But what about those creatures? We can handle the Vikings but with creatures that could only be fought with magic...Merlin might be good but he can't handle all those beasts by himself."

"Yes," said Leon agreeing sadly with Elyan. "And Galahad and Kay made it clear that they wouldn't fight with us."

"I know," Arthur said. "But I still have to talk with them. From what I could get from Vortigern's taunts, Albion defeated them all before and they might be able to tell us more about them."

* * *

Vortigern looked down at the the captured men that his soldiers had brought in front of him. They were on their knees and had their arms shackled behind their backs. There was a total of twenty five of them. They were a mix of soldiers, knights and even two appeared to be high class lords.

The two lords were Renmar and Calhoun and they were the only ones that seemed more angry than frightened. They were looking at Vortigern and his prime sorcerer pair who had been joined by two women wearing similiar thorn robes to the two.

"What are you going to do with us?" spat out Calhoun.

"You would do well to bring your tone down," said Vortigern. "Unlike your king, insolence against me isn't something any get to repeat."

"But, if you're just nervous, don't be," said Angus. "You are going to be put to use."

Renmar stared back at him in confident defiance. "We won't say or do anything for you. You might as well kill us now? We will never answer to the likes of you."

Angus, Mab and Nemain just chuckled. "Kill you," Mab said stepping up to Renmar and taking his chin in her hand. "Now, what use could use could you be as corpses? Besides, you would do well to make yourselves useful as much as you could instead of as the least that you could."

"What?" asked Calhoun.

Mab smirked at them. "This is what happens when you become accustomed to slaying Old Religion weaklings. You forget what happens when you meet truly powerful magical beings."

"Enough small talk." Vortigern looked to Angus and Mordred. "Do you two need to re-vitalize yourselves?"

"I'm tired," said Mordred. "But, I'm still new with this branch of powerful magic. I still need to take it slow. I'll have to let my strength come back with time."

But Angus shook his head. "Emrys did drain me a bit. Especially when I had to give the deception that I was weak."

"And the cloak I put on our forces drained me some as well sire," said Nemain taking a step forward. "I need to regain my power."

"Excellent," Vortigern said before looking back to the two lords. "You two will serve as an example for the rest of these men. Either keep yourselves as useful as possible or serve as fuel for my friends and I." He turned back to Angus and Nemain who went to stand on either side of him. "When you two are done and back to your fullest, you and Mab will have your flying minions go to Camelot and attack it. Have a Viking ride along with each one as well. I will take the ogres and the rest of the army and march for the city and meet you there."

"Yes sire," the three sorcerers said with a bow.

With that Vortigern, with Mordred at his side and his army behind him, readied to march for Camelot. Behind him, there were soon strong bloodcurling screams being let out by their prisoners at the fate of the two lords.

* * *

Guinevere was walking about in the castle corridors, working out her nerves until the sounds of heavy horse echoed through them. She went to a nearby window and saw that Arthur and his men were back. She ran out to meet them with a relieved smile that vanished as soon as she got out there. Arthur and the knights were dampened with sweat and covered in dirt. The soldiers behind him had dried blood and seemed drained of their high spirits. Then there was the body on the horse next to Arthur.

"Merlin!" she said running to her friend.

Arthur got off his horse and moved to get him off his horse. "We have to take him to Gaius right away."

"What? Merlin," Gaius said as Arthur and Gwaine carried him into his lab and put him on the bed. "Eli, ready some water and rags."

"Yes, Gaius." Eli said as he ran to the shelves to get some. Gwen helped him get some water.

Gaius looked at his former ward. He was paler and looked a little beaten. He then turned back to Arthur. "What happened to him?"

Arthur explained to everyone what happened and about Merlin becoming sick after Angus' weird spell. "After that he started falling even though he seemed to block it. Then he was blasted again."

Gaius wiped at Merlin's brow. "That doesn't make sense. I've never heard of magic that could do something like this."

"Well, this sorcerer was different from others we've met before. He tricked Merlin somehow. Merlin said that he couldn't sense much power in him but Angus said that he kept Merlin from feeling his true power."

At that, there was the sound of shattering pottery. Everyone looked towards the boy Eli who had dropped a bowl of water he'd been holding and was looking at Arthur, shaking.

"Angus? He's back."

Gaius turned his body completely around to look directly at his new ward and apprentice. "Eli? You know about this man?"

"That's right," said Leon with a snap of his fingers. "They did mention being enemies to the Order of the Bear, didn't they?"

"Yeah," said Eli. "Angus is one of the worst. He's pure evil."

He didn't say anything after that as his arms were grasped hard by Arthur. "What do you know about him?" he said almost shaking him. Arthur's eyes were getting foggy. If Eli had any true in depth information on their new enemies then he had to know it quickly.

"Arthur," shrieked Gwen. "Calm down and let him go. You're scaring him." She went and took him by the shoulder. "Just calm yourself."

Arthur heavy breathing started to slow and his grip on Eli was loosening. When he started to see more clearly, he saw that tears were starting to form in Eli's eyes. That snapped him completely to sense. He couldn't believe that he just terrorized a young boy like this. "Eli...I'm so sorry," he said dropping his arms and moving back a little bit. "I didn't mean to scare you. Please...forgive me."

Eli breathed in and started to wipe his tears away. "It's...its okay sire."

Arthur nodded and forced himself to wait until Eli was calm again to tell them what they needed to know. He couldn't lose his head now. "You know about this Angus? And do you know about Vortigern Tregor?"

Eli's breathing was calmer and he then nodded. "The Tregors were the royal family that ruled the north of Eire and tried to rule the whole island and eventually come here to this land and rule it too. They were a cruel and evil royal family. They gathered slaves, both with magic and without, to try and expand their power. That was until Lord Connor and the rest of the Order of the Bear came along and with the Celts and South Welsh lords stopped and defeated them."

"Yes, we heard about that back in Albion from their museum, remember?" asked Guinevere. "They had won that war nearly seven years ago."

"That would explain why Vortigern is here now." said Elyan crossing his arms. "He wants to try and continue with his father's plans for conquest."

"What about Angus?" Arthur asked Eli. "Do you know what he did to Merlin?"

"I don't know much about magic sire...but I will tell you what I heard from some of the Albion magicians who lived in our village. Me and the other children loved it when they were telling us the tales of the war. They used to tell us stories about it all the time. Angus was part of a group of 13 of the strongest and fiercest sorcerers that were loyal to the king and nearly all of them were into an evil bit of magic. They called themselves the Brotherhood of the Thorn."

Gwaine raised his eyes at that. "Brotherhood of the Thorn? I guess that explains those tasteless robes that man was wearing. Gaius? You know these people?"

"I've never heard of them before?" said Gaius.

Arthur was curious. For someone who had heard all his life that all magic was evil being told by someone who stood firmly on the side of magic speak of such a thing as "evil magic". It was perplexing and a little more frightening. What about these sorcerers were so different that other sorcerers would call their magic evil? Was this the true power they spoke of? "What kind of sorcerers were they? How was their magic evil?" he asked the boy.

Eli just shrugged. "They never told us exactly what it was. They said that we were too young to hear about it or understand."

Now Arthur was more worried. But he had to stay calm. "You said there are 13 of them?"

Eli quickly shook his head. "No there were. The Order destroyed most of them." He rubbed his head. "I believe...there are three left. And Angus was the name of one of them."

"And the other two?" asked Leon.

"They are Nemain and...er, Mab. That's it. Angus, Nemain and Mab. Those are the Thorns that are left."

"What else do you know Eli?" asked Arthur.

"I'm sorry sire," he said quickly. "But that's all I know about them."

"Thank you for your help Eli. And, I'm sorry again." Eli bowed to him and Arthur knew that he was forgiven by the boy. "Gaius, do you think Merlin will be okay?"

"Hard to say. With what I've just heard I can't really say what kind of magic this Angus wielded or used against Merlin. Yet, his vitals are still good though. It's like Merlin is suffering from some sickness. He might just need some rest, but again, without more information I can't be sure."

"If the Order of the Bear fought against these...Thorns, then maybe Galahad and Kay might be able to tell us some more," suggested Tristan. "Since they are old enemies, maybe now they would help us fight them."

"No," said Gwen shaking her head. "They aren't in Camelot anymore. They left almost when you did. They said they were heading back to Albion."

Arthur stomped his foot. "Of all the times...It's amazing. Before when we didn't want sorcerers in the city, they came one after the other. Now when we do want them, they decide to leave on their own."

"What do we do now sire?" asked Leon. "Vortigern's forces could be right behind us."

"We need to secure the city. Get the city's guards on full alert and rally all the knights left from the battle and the ones still in the city."

"Yes sire," said his faithful knights as one before they left the Physician's Chambers.

"I'll stay with Merlin and try to do what I can for him," said Gaius. "I'll have Eli stay and help me."

"Thank you Gaius." said Arthur.

"Arthur," said Guinevere as the two of them left the room. "I'll go and start moving as many people as I can into the safety of the citadel. We don't need panic in the city streets to give us more wounded people."

Arthur gave her a quick kiss. "Thank you Gwen. And be careful."

"You too."

* * *

In the sky a little ways from the city were a horde of flying creatures coming for them. Vikings were riding on the winged bird like creatures while the scaly winged creatures had a Viking held in their feet talons. In front of this aerial wave were three figures, in robes wrapped in velvet thorns, flying without wings and with malicious glints in their eyes. The sun was starting to turn orange in the distance which only furthered their cold mystique. Mab, Angus and Nemain broke into smiles when the shapes of Camelot became visible.

Below just a small distance behind was King Vortigern and Mordred on horses stolen from dead members of Camelot's army. They were slowly riding with a massive force following them.

A few fallen trees came in front of them. "Arthur must've tried to make some obstacles for us to slow our advance," said Vortigern.

"Try being the right word sire. _**Dinistro**_." The trees all soon exploded into saw dust and the path was clear again.

"Back to full power?"

"No," said Mordred as they kept moving. "I won't have my full strength until morning. I was looking forward to destroying Arthur Pendragon with my magic for everything he and his father put me through."

Vortigern hid a grin. "Don't worry. If you're lucky, you can still get him the non magical way."

They both also broke into smiles when Camelot came into sight, glowing slightly from the sun's orange shade. Mordred was hoping that the orange glow of Camelot would be made to continue...into the night.

* * *

**End of Chapter 8**

A/N: I hope you liked this new chapter. Or with how things are turning out for everyone, didn't like it. So Camelot will now meet it's most dire time to date. The next chapter will have the greatest tragedy to fall to Arthur's kingdom to date. Hope will die.

For those of you who are wondering: The giant creatures are Nemain's ogres. The scaly winged creatures are Mab's gargoyles and the feathered winged creatures are Angus' hippogriffs. According to myth, hippogriffs were bred from Griffins and mighty stallions. Since that was the case and Griffins could only be killed by magic, it made sense for I to pass that trait to them. Dejavu anyone?

_Lladd fy Ngelyn _- Kill my enemy

_Dinistio_ - Destroy


	9. Vortigern's Victory

**Dangers in the Path to Destiny**

A/N: I love the response generated from the last chapter. I'm happy to see that so many are excited about the turmoil heading for everyone. Well, here it is.

* * *

Hope. It is the only thing stronger than fear. A little hope is effective. A lot of hope is dangerous. A spark is fine, as long as it's contained.

~President Snow, The Hunger Games

* * *

Chapter 9: Vortigern's Victory

People were being frantic as they quickly moved their loved ones and what little they could carry into the sanctuary of the citadel. While they were moving about into the castle, soldiers and guards were leaving it to get to the walls and gates defend them. Gwen moved about trying to get the panicked people to be calm. Elyan and Gwaine were with her to help take care of and protect all these people. Arthur was with Leon and they were overseeing the defense and security of the city. Percival was with some other knights and were joining the men in the front lines of the city's defense. Overall, the city seemed secure enough to Arthur.

Tristan was in the physicians' chambers next to Gaius as he flipped through some books.

"No," he said as Gaius stopped at a page. He then turned it. "No, the head was more eagle like."

Gaius squinted his eyes and then frantically turned several pages. "What about this one?"

"That's it," he said pointing to it. "Those are some of the beasts we saw. What are they?"

"Hippogriffs." he said somberly. "Relatives to the griffins. Head of eagles and the body of stallions with clawed front feet and horse hind feet." He read some of the text. "It would seem that Arthur's hunch was right. Like the griffins, they too can only be destroyed by magical means. Ordinary weapons won't work which is why they snapped like they did."

"Sir Tristan," Eli said as he had himself over another book. "Is this the big creature you saw?"

Tristan went over to the open book and recognized the giant in the picture with a club. "Those are it."

"Ogres," said Eli. "Not very intelligent creatures but very strong and savage," he read aloud. "Strongly resistant to pain but highly susceptible to magic and enchantments."

"Which means that conventional weapons will be of little use against them too." finished Gaius. "It seems magic is their only real weakness.

"Terrific," said Tristan with little humor in his tone.

Gaius breathed a little somberly. "Now for those last batch of creatures you saw...from what you described. It seems those are gargoyles. Camelot suffered an attack from them a few years ago when Cornelius Sigan's spirit was set free. Magic is their weakness as well."

"Then how did they get beaten?" he asked. Gaius looked to Merlin, still unconscious on the bed. "Oh...of course."

"He's been through a lot for Camelot despite what all the people may now think of him."

Tristan looked down to the young man that he and Isolde had run into in the woods. He seemed so carefree and even now, on that bed, you would think that he hardly has any cares in the world. But the sad truth was that the weight is overwhelming. "Now it seems that we're now going to have to pay for that soon. One slogan I learned in 'free trade'" he said using Isolde's favorite word for their work. "is that when you don't appreciate the value of any vitals you have, then you're asking for it to be taken away. Now, because of that shortsightedness, we've lost the vital assets we needed to overcome this army."

Gaius felt his knees suddenly getting heavier and went to sit down. "Throughout the Great Purge, I as well as Uther and all the assembled people, always heard the sorcerers up for execution say that Camelot would one day pay for what we were doing. Yet, everyone ignored it. Arrogantly assumed that this kingdom was invincible and there was no power in those warnings. Now, I believe that overtime, all those statements did have some power and they built on top of each other until they finally manifested in all of this trouble we've been facing." He looked over at Merlin. "Merlin has been doing what he could to protect us all and push the danger back...but I suppose it was only a matter of time before it became too much for him."

"It seems that Camelot now has to settle its debts the hard way, like all of us who take without giving back," said Tristan. "Uther took away any real magical defense Camelot may have had and now Arthur will be the won to suffer the price for it."

* * *

"Fall back!" Arthur shouted as he parried a blow from a Viking and then kicked him away.

The men with him, who weren't dead, started to pull back for the citadel. Arthur and his men had been prepared to fight Vortigern's men but they hadn't been prepared for the tactic they used. Everyone was confident that even the Vikings would have to suffer some losses before they were finally able to infiltrate Camelot. They had the entire city secured but the Vikings were able to bypass into it without a fight. They had flown on the backs or carried by the hippogriffs and gargoyles they had at their command. When they flew overhead, they were dropped into the city and then engaged the men while the creatures attacked with them. Any man unfortunate enough to engage the monsters were ripped apart or cut through by their teeth and claws. Their weapons broke or shattered after every attempt to strike at them. The ones engaging the Vikings hardly fared better. These strong and savage men took any small wound inflicted and nearly always brushed it off and kept up their brutal assaults.

Then there were the trio of Mab, Angus and Nemain. They were in the air casting spells to further harm their enemies' chances of defending their city. Nemain went and broke the crossbows of the men as they held them and sent splinters into their hands and face when she made them shatter. Angus was just zipping about and randomly sending spells of varying degrees at houses or groups of soldiers to hurt and/or kill them. Mab went to different parts of the outer and inner walls of the city and sent bursts of power and blasted giant holes in them and knocked out sections of it to leave them open for infiltration. She had blasted two big holes in the outer wall on either side of the main door with a laugh to herself.

Arthur finally called the retreat when he was up on the wall and saw that Vortigern's main force marched within sight.

"Head for the citadel!" he shouted as he jabbed his sword into a Viking's heart and made sure he stayed down.

Everyone started to run to the citadel which was thankfully still untouched yet. The doors opened and the remaining men were let in by the castle's defense. Knights, soldiers and guards ran into the safety of the citadel with grim relief setting in as soon as they were in. Arthur was one of the last to go in. He wanted to make sure as many men got into the safety of the castle as possible. When it became time to close the doors, he could vividly see Vortigern enter Camelot arrogantly from its main door even though there were two holes where his men were coming through.

He went into the throne room and found Guinevere among all the citizens that were housed there. She went and hugged him, relieved that he was still okay. "Thank goodness you're safe."

"Is everyone alright?" he asked after they separated.

Gwen nodded her head a little. "So far the castle has yet to be touched but we could feel and hear all the damage from here."

"It's unbelievable. They infiltrated Camelot and tore at our defense with little trouble. Those creatures with them went through our men one after the other like parchment."

"Arthur!" He turned around at the new sound and saw that it was Tristan. "Vortigern is on his way. He's already about to pass the lower town."

"We...the people can't stay here," he said looking at his people. "They were able to enter the city too easily. The castle won't stop them."

"Arthur," said Guinevere. "How can we get all these people out now?"

"The tunnels," he said quickly. "Underneath the castle. The ones that lead to the waterways beneath the city. Gwen, take as many of the people as you can and have them leave the city."

"What about you?"

"My men and I will stay and try to hold off as long as we can."

"Arthur," she started.

"No, just take them and go Gwen. We'll go to the tunnels when we can."

Outside the castle, the Vikings broke into house after house as they marched for the castle.

"There is no one here sire," said one soldier. "The houses are empty."

"It seems that Arthur moved the people out of the city." said Mordred.

"No," said Vortigern turning to look to the citadel. "There is no way that they could've moved all the people out of the city without us noticing. My guess is that they were placed in some kind of special space within the city. Most likely, the castle," he said pointing it out.

"That won't keep us out."

"No Mordred, it won't." Vortigern looked up at his three friends hovering above him. "Nemain send in your ogres and shatter their primary defense. I"ll send in a wave of Vikings after them. I want Arthur Pendragon. Send an order to your beasts to capture him if possible. However, if it's too much trouble you have my official permission to kill him."

* * *

"We need to leave now," Gaius said as he shut the door behind him. He had been with the people in the castle observing what was happening until the point when the Arthur started to have their force fall back into the castle. Now, Arthur has sent word for the people to leave for the tunnels beneath the castle to try and have the citizens leave the city for their own safety.

Eli had been watching over Merlin in his stead. Right now, he was looking through Gaius stores to see if there was anything that could wake the warlock up faster. "How?"

"There are tunnels beneath the city that lead to areas of the city and forest. We'll have to use those." He went for a bag. "Any change with Merlin?"

"The color is nearly back in his face. Still out though. I've been looking for anything to wake him faster. It would be easier to move him if he was conscious."

"Unfortunately, I don't have anything fast acting."

There was suddenly a giant boom sounding through the castle that shook it to it's very foundation. Eli just threw caution to the wind and grabbed the smelliest thing on Gaius' potion rack.

"Eli?"

But Eli didn't listen and then tipped the flash over Merlin's face and let the smelly liquid splash on Merlin's face. "Wake up!"

"Eli!" Gaius scolded.

But then there was some slight coughing and Merlin sat up hastily and began wiping his face. "Pfft, what is on my face? And what is that smell? It smells like the stables mixed with rotten fruit!"

Gaius looked at Eli with a pointed look and Eli just raised his shoulders. "Well, it worked."

"What happened?" Merlin said as he tried to get back to his feet.

"Easy Merlin," said Gaius as he went to steady him. "Merlin, you've been bedridden for most of the day. Yesterday, you were struck down and you've been out since then."

"What?" he said processing the news. He thought back to his battle with Angus. He remembered that cold feeling flowing up his spine from Angus' spells and it made him shiver in Gaius' warm room. "I remember...that sorcerer, Angus. He used magic that I've never seen before."

"How?" Gaius asked. After everything they've encountered, for Merlin to say that then it must be something to worry about. "Was it powerful?"

"No, it wasn't the strength that I mean. I was actually able to stop it. But...when I did, this feeling came over me. And I heard...things."

Now Gaius was confused. What kind of attacking magic could make someone hear things? "What did you hear?"

"It was...voices. Like they were in the distance and they were screaming. And it made me freeze inside. It was as if it was the aftershock of the spells he used. And...his eyes. For a moment, I could swear his eyes glowed green instead of gold like I've always seen before. I've never felt magic like this."

"You've never faced anyone like the Thorns," said Eli.

"Thorns?"

"We'll have to discuss this later," said Gaius as he looked at his window. "It looks like the Vikings have begun their siege on the castle."

"They're here," Merlin said clenching his fist. "You should've told me that from the start."

"Merlin, you just got back up." Gaius started. However, Merlin already made his way out the door. "Of course. I forgot who I was dealing with."

* * *

The steel doors rattled as the clubs from the ogres slammed against them. Dust flew off from the hinges as the doors shook and rang through the castle. Behind the door, the knights were waiting with heightened anticipation. Arthur was with them watching the doors shake more violently with every hit. Then one of the had a dent in it where there was a peek of the outside.

"Get ready!" Arthur shouted bringing his shield up.

The door was then bent forward revealing fifteen foot beast men with grey skin. Their hands wrapped into the doors and began pulling at them. They left finger welds into the door as they pulled on them. Some knights went forward and struck at their fingers with their swords and while they did manage to make the hands bleed a little, it did little to halt their efforts. Then the doors suddenly came loose and the Ogres threw them aside. Two ogres came tumbling in and started whacking at the sight of all of the men. They raised their shields to block them but they went flying backwards anyway. Arthur looked behind them to see three more of them and some Vikings getting ready to come in after them. Arthur went and jabbed Excalibur into an ogre's heel. It let out a roar at the hit that seemed to work better than the ones his knights were delivering. Four more knights struck the ogre that Arthur was fighting making it wobble. Arthur then went and jumped toward's the creature's chest and struck it with his sword. The ogre staggered back and then fell with a shaking flop. Yet as soon as it fell, the other ogres outside started to get in.

Arthur took a look behind him and saw that the other ogre was still whacking at his men. Left and right were a few of them looking broken or knocked out. All of this was from just two of these things and now three more were coming in. "Regroup. Into the corridors."

Arthur got into the corridors and he was then joined by his friends. They turned back and saw that the corridors were too narrow for those creatures to follow. But, not narrow enough for the Vikings as they came after them with excitement and triumph in their shouts.

"_**Torri o dan**_" The torches ahead of them grew brighter and the fire from them flew off and went for the Vikings. The fire split off into ropes of flames and seemed to form a cage around these men. "_**Heddlu yn ol**_!" Then the Vikings suddenly flew backwards and went down the corridor out of sight.

"What was that?" asked Percival.

"That was magic." said Arthur. "But who did that?"

"Arthur, come on. Isn't it obvious?" said a new voice.

Arthur and the others looked behind them and saw the one who had done the magic.

Arthur broke into a relieved smile. "Merlin." He still looked a little pale and was slightly wobbling but he seemed okay.

"I leave all of you alone for one day and hell breaks loose in Camelot?"

"Well...not anymore right?" said Gwaine as he clapped Merlin on his back.

Yet, when he did, Merlin gritted his teeth and nearly fell on one knee. They all went to him and tried to steady him. "Sorry."

"Merlin, you're still not fully recovered," said Elyan as he took note of how Merlin was moving.

"Not surprising, you were struck by lightning and fell some feet from the sky," said Tristan.

"I'm okay. Really, the physical pain is nothing compared to the rest I felt during that fight."

"What do you mean?" asked Arthur. Had more happened during his duel with that Thorn Angus than he realized.

"Now, isn't the time." Merlin said shaking his head. He straightened himself. "Where is everyone?"

"Gwen is leading the people through the tunnels beneath the castle to try and get away. We're holding off Vortigern's army to buy them as much time as possible."

"The city's overrun?"

"Of course it is," said a new and taunting voice. They all looked back at the direction the Vikings were sent to and saw a vibrant woman in a cloak like Angus'. Her dark hair was long and straight and she was smiling but her eyes seemed to be glaring in at them. "Did you really think that you could compete with our power?"

Merlin went forward and stood with Arthur and faced the woman. "And who are you?"

"I'm Mab...and you must be Emrys. I saw your battle with Angus from afar. You do have some skill but it is quite lacking technique. You should join us. We could bring out the best, maybe even beyond that. You could become a god with our help."

"Forget it," Merlin said almost as soon as she was done.

She just shook her head like a child just misbehaved. "Cut from the same cloth as the Order of the Bear I see. Now, I can understand how you've gotten so high with them."

"Mab?" said Arthur thinking back to earlier in the afternoon. "I know you. You're part of that Thorn Brotherhood."

"Ahh, you've heard of me." she said as a few Vikings came to stand behind her. "The Albions no doubt. I also doubt they painted us very positive."

"The one who told us didn't say much but enough. That you and your cohorts use evil magic."

That seemed to only make Mab grit her teeth but her eyes still looked calm as she glared at him. "Evil magic? Those spineless cowards are nothing but meddling fools. And I'm surprised to hear you say evil with magic. Last I heard, even making a feather fly about was evil in motion to your household."

Arthur lightly bit inside of tongue and glanced a bit at Merlin but saw that he was only staring at Mab. "Things have changed." he said lightly.

"Yet...though it seems it was too little too late. You and your father played your parts well but I'm glad to say that your work is all done."

This made both Arthur and Merlin raise their eyebrows in confusion. "What? What are you talking about?" Arthur asked.

"Don't worry your pretty head about it Arthur. If you don't surrender to me here and now, I'll take it off those appealing shoulders for a trinket."

"Forget it," said Merlin stepping forward. "I won't let you."

Mab just brought her hand out. "_**Ergyd o Anhrefn**_!" Suddenly her eyes burned red and a matching red stream of light came for them.

Merlin was ready to react. "_**Darian Ni I Gyd**_!" A wall of light formed some feet away from them to intercept it. Yet, Merlin suddenly heard the distant screaming from before. While it seemed fainter than before, it still sent chills down his spine. Although, this time he remained conscious. It was probably because the spell was stopped further away from him than Angus' was.

Arthur and the others felt it too. They heard the screaming just inside their ears and felt themselves go a little cold. They could only find one word for what it was they were feeling...evil. Arthur had been hit with magic before but never before did he feel like this, and he wasn't even hit by the magic this time.

Merlin's shield withstood the stress of Mab's attack. Mab put more focus into it's force to try and break through. The spells were cancelled out and Mab just smirked. "Impressive. You do have power Merlin but you've never faced the great power of the Thorns. Your enemies within the Old Religion have spoiled you." She looked to the soldiers. "Get them. Bring me Arthur. Alive if possible. Dead if necessary."

They came running for them but Merlin sent them all flying back without even gesture. Mab just set up a wall so none would hit her and the ones that did struck it and landed before her feet in a heap. There was distant shouting as some more Vikings were making their way to them.

"Sire," said Leon pointing to their approaching shapes.

"We have to move." Arthur said as he tugged to pull Merlin with him.

"_**Niwl Arllwys Allan**_" The corridor was suddenly filling with a thick fog right behind him. "That should buy us some time."

"Where should we go?" asked Gwaine. "They're roaming the castle."

Arthur was shaking. His whole kingdom was being overrun within a day by them. He couldn't believe it. He looked as he passed an open window and his heart dropped even further. There were creatures hovering overhead and in the streets trampling houses. He could also make out the Vikings running through the streets as well. This was even more awful then what Morgause and Morgana had done when they took the city. And even more lethal.

He was almost pained with what he had to say. "The tunnels. We have to...retreat."

They looked at Arthur in confusion for a moment before nodding.

"You're calling for a retreat?" Merlin was surprised. Before, Arthur was adamant in staying until the very end unless Merlin was there to drag him away.

Arthur looked Merlin in his eyes. Then he dropped his gaze and closed his eyes like he was in physical pain. "Merlin...look out the window."

Merlin took a moment and looked out the same window Arthur had. He didn't know what had happened while he was out and his own heart built on the chill recieved from Mab and dropped at Camelot's present state. He then understood and he nodded back to Arthur. He didn't like it any better either and knew his pain. His first real chance to openly serve Arthur and...he blew it. Failed. Now they had to leave the city again.

Back behind the fog, Mab looked at it and chuckled. "Childish tricks. _**Clirio'r Llwybr**_" The fog started to part and disappear. Soon the rest of the corridor was clear as day. Mab looked to the Vikings still on the floor and approaching. She then stopped being so calm. "What are all of you waiting for? After them!" At her tone, they went and ran down the path with their swords out and roared. "Brainless oafs," she said turning away and heading back to Vortigern.

* * *

The people ran into the tunnels and were getting more on edge when the booms over their heads were getting louder and harder. Gwen was leading them off down the path that opened up in the forest behind Camelot. The vibrations were making the people more and more scared but they still followed their Queen...that is until the latest vibration took a chunk of the ceiling and made it fall on a soldier and made him fall down.

At that, all hell broke loose and many people started running for the nearest exits out of the tunnels for the surface. Guinevere put her hands out to try and stop them.

"No, you're all going the wrong way. Stop!"

But they didn't listen. Some may have looked back at her but most of them snapped under the pressure and just ran for it. Guinevere started to move towards the exits after them but one of the knights with her stopped her.

"My lady, the king said we were to get you out of the city."

"But the people," she started.

"They made their choice. There are still some who need you that are still here. We need to get the ones we can to safety."

Gwen looked at the backs of the people still running

The people that ran out of the tunnel exits and came out in various parts within the city limits and ran out to try and escape the devastation. Vikings blocked their paths out of the city and Ogres slammed their clubs into the ground and made them freeze in fright. For a moment, those that had been stopped thought that they were going to be slaughtered by these fearsome enemies. The Vikings and Ogres apparently had that in mind as they approached the citizens with predatorial leers until a bolt of lightning struck in front of them and stopped them.

Angus hovered above them. "No," he said to the Vikings and the Ogres. "Don't kill them. They're not what we're after. Save your wrath for the soldiers and knights. Bring these citizens out of the city and have them watched." He then flew towards the Camelot citizens. "If you don't cause any problems then you will be spared. Be thankful for my king's mercy." The people quietly allowed the Vikings lead them away, out of the city to be under watch by them and the Ogres. Angus watched the proceedings and then smirked inside. '_Mordred, can you hear me_?' he thought as he focused on the young man.

"_I can hear you_." he heard Mordred answer.

"_Tell Vortigern that phase three of his plans are commencing. The people are being rounded up and spared_."

"_I will Angus_."

Over in the castle, at the throne room were Vortigern, Mordred, and Nemain. Vortigern was sitting in Arthur's throne and Mordred went down on one knee in front of him.

"Sire," he said as he bowed his head. "Angus has started phase three of your plans."

Vortigern gestured for Mordred to rise. "Excellent. One of the things that my father and uncle were blind to is knowing when not to make enemies when they didn't need to. I needed to think outside winning this battle and plan for long term. The last thing I want to do is give anyone outside of this city still loyal to the Pendragons fuel to draw in supporters. If I deliver senseless brutality, then it will make the people believe the only give hope is with our remaining enemies. If I show mercy, then it will bring doubt to the choice of defying me."

Mordred was only getting more and more enamored by Vortigern's brilliance. The leadership of a true king. Something he never got to have. Any king that he ever came across only delivered the promise of death and pain for himself and his kin. Yet, Vortigern praised them even presented him with the chance to delve into a magic more powerful than he ever knew existed. "It is a brilliant plan Vortigern. You've taken Camelot with ease and Arthur's corpse will soon be at your feet."

"You're making me blush Mordred." he said with a chuckle. "Nemain, fan out and help Mab. There is a chance that Merlin might be with Arthur and Mab might not be strong enough to defeat him alone. The lasting effects behind Angus' attacks might have worn out by now and Merlin might not risk underestimating us again. Yet, together you two will conquer him."

"Of course Vortigern," she said with a bow.

But before she could leave, the doors opened and Mab came through them baring her teeth. "I'm afraid that is easier said than done." She walked down to Vortigern. "Merlin did wake and he helped Arthur and his best knights escape."

Vortigern stood up from the throne in complete anger. "What?! My plans relied on him not leaving this city alive. The last thing I want is for a symbol going around inspiring resistance."

Mab visibly winced. "I'm truly sorry sire. Merlin surprised me. I was not expecting him when I confronted Arthur."

Vortigern clenched his right fist but then forced himself to relax. He breathed in and out deeply until he settled back down. "Relax yourself Mab. We can still fix this. Go out and have your gargoyles scout the surrounding area of the city. Have Angus and his hippogriffs help you. Grab anyone that you can and get Arthur back. We can still catch him. And...if we can't catch him now, don't worry about it. I have a new plan ready to crush any hope he and his kingdom have for victory." He then smiled. "If he does escape I will make him wish he hadn't."

* * *

Arthur and the others ran down the corridors of the tunnels for a path to the forest. They came upon a stray Viking that wondered down them but as a unit struck them down.

They turned a sharp corner. "We're halfway to the forest," said Arthur.

"You think Gwen got the people out safely," asked Elyan.

"I hope so," answered Arthur. "We bought them enough time to get them through the tunnels before they broke into the castle. I think by the time they went through the castle and realized that the people were gone, they wouldn't be able to catch up to them."

"Well let's hope we can," said Leon.

Suddenly, they came upon a caved in area that blocked their advance. Arthur redirected them to the nearest exit. They came out of one of the secret exits outside the city walls. It was chaos. There were flying creatures about and they were scooping up random people running for the forests and taking them into the air.

"What are those things?" asked Percival.

It was Tristan who answered. After all, he got the lesson from Gaius and Eli. "Hippogriffs and gargoyles, Gaius helped me identify them before we fought. He said that they could only be destroyed by magic. The ogres from before can be taken without it but it's extremely harder to destroy them."

"I can handle them." said Merlin.

Gwaine slapped Merlin's shoulder. "I'm sure you can Merlin but...you can't fight them all at once. Not to mention those three Thorns that Eli told us about."

"I don't have much of a choice."

Arthur stopped him. "Merlin, he's right," They took off for the forest when the path looked clear. "They have an army of magic and we only have you. You're powerful, I know. But, it's not enough. You'll just get yourself killed. Don't be stubborn."

Now Merlin knew things were serious. Arthur was talking to him about being stubborn? The one who he had to turn into a mindless fool to get him out of Camelot to save him? He grit his teeth and surrendered to their fate. "Alright. I get it. I can stop them as far as you could."

'Well,' Arthur thought. 'At least he's has a bit of his humor again.'

They nearly got to the treeline until a hippogriff and a gargoyle came down and blocked them. Merlin looked to the gargoyle and went for it with one of Kay's favorite attack spells. "_**Awyr Slaes**_!" He struck up and a slice of air went for the gargoyle and cut into the gargoyle diagonally. It's head and part of it's chest fell off and the whole body crumbled into dust.

Yet, as he did that, the hippogriff lunged for the others. Even though Arthur knew it wouldn't do any good, he couldn't stop his instincts and jabbed his sword into it's head. He and the others expected to see it break like the other swords did but it didn't. Excalibur went into the beast's brain and it flapped around some before just falling down dead as a doornail.

"What?" Arthur said to himself as he yanked his sword out.

"Arthur!" shouted Leon. He pointed up to the sky behind them and saw that a dozen more flying creatures were getting closer. "We have to move!"

Arthur momentarily forgot about what just happened and they took off into the cover of the woods. They jumped logs and brushed off stray branches in their way as they tried to distance themselves from the city. They headed for where the exit within the forest was and eventually found some of the knights and citizens were as they watched the city from afar.

"Sire."

"Your majesty!"

"It's the king."

Those were the reactions as he got to them. There were soldiers and some of the castle staff here also. Arthur even saw that his new servant Gale was there also. He was happy to see so many of his people were safe and sound. But there was one specific one he was looking for. "Guinevere?" he called out.

"Arthur?"

Arthur saw that she was in a far off corner with some knights and Gaius and Eli were by her. They ran for each other and went into a tight embrace. They were right to hope for the best.

* * *

"Any sign of the king?" asked Vortigern.

"None." said Angus. "Yet, we did manage to capture quite a few of the guards and knights. They were spotted in some tunnels found underneath Camelot. It's probably how Arthur and the others escaped us." He looked up at the flock of hippogriffs still scouring the area. "Our beasts are trying to capture more stragglers now."

They were out in front of the castle and Vortigern was just informed that the entire area was searched. Angus, Mab and Nemain were hovering over him while Mordred was standing with Vortigern looking over at the castle.

"Very well," he breathed out. "So it would seem Arthur escaped after all."

"This isn't the first time sire," Mordred said trying to reassure his king. "He has a history of doing so with Emrys at his side. They're probably vowing to their fellow men about returning to reclaim their city like they've always done."

"Yes...but don't you worry about me. This is where my plan comes in." Vortigern smirked evilly as he looked to the castle. "You see, all those times you just mentioned, Arthur managed to elude his enemies and triumph over time. They had and still have something to hope for. Both Arthur and his sorcerer Merlin. The hope of taking back their precious city and reclaiming the kingdom. This is the symbol that they keep returning to and fighting for. They draw strength and power from that hope to overcome those odds and build their legacy. If I want to take away the power of their hope...I just need to get rid of the symbol giving it to them. Now you'll see why Arthur will wish he did fall." He turned to his three faithful enforcers. "Mab, Angus, Nemain...Destroy the castle and the city."

"But sire..." started Mordred as they started to head for out of Camelot. "If the city is destroyed, what have we gained?"

"Don't think of it as a waste Mordred," he said as a loud bang roared into the night sky. "Think of it as necessary sacrifice towards our supreme victory. Besides, this castle and city don't match my taste anyway. And, this place could always be rebuilt more to my liking when we've taken the entire island."

Mab, Angus and Nemain were relentless in their onslaught. They lit up the sky as they blasted tower after tower of the once great castle. Every time one tumbled, it sent loud bangs that echoed for miles. The city was lit by the flames caught by the houses where content people once lived in happiness. Within the castle, a part of the ceiling fell to their brutality and smashed down on Arthur's and Uther's throne where they sat and generated awe from their people. The three of them launched one final joint spell and the main part of the castle went tumbling down like high stack of blocks.

It was all witnessed from afar by the lucky survivors of the battle yet, they didn't feel so lucky anymore. Neither did the ones that had escaped into the forest. Both Arthur and Merlin watched in despair as Camelot fell to pieces right before their eyes.

* * *

**End of Chapter 9**

A/N: I hope you enjoyed that one. Vortigern is pure evil isn't he. And he isn't done. This is only the beginning. I'm glad so many liked the last chapter and I hope you liked this one even more. Tell me what you thought.

_Torri o Dan_ - Burst of fire

_Heddlu yn ol_ - Force back

_Ergyd o Anhrefn_ - Shot of Mayhem

_Darian Ni i Gyd_ - Shield us all

_Niwl Arllwys Allan_ - Fog pour forth

_Clirio'r Llwybr _- Clear the path

_Awyr slaes_ - Air slash


	10. Source of the Evil

**Dangers in the Path to Destiny**

A/N: The last two chapters had the biggest responses in record breaking time. I'm so proud of them and happy to see that so many of you enjoyed them. And, we're not even at the half-way point of the story yet. This is getting good. For this chapter, there are two central themes and I couldn't settle on what quote of these two to use for them so I'm using both. I think that's a first for a fanfic.

* * *

1._ Hope is comforting. It allows us to accept fate, however tragic it might be_.

~Lady Yunalesca, Final Fantasy X

2. _Lesson #1: Always show compassion. It's a useful cover for your true motives_

~Starscream, Beast Wars

* * *

Chapter 10: Source of the Evil

Arthur was awake and looking out into the night sky. It was a very beautiful night. There was a bright full moon and the stars were twinkling above them all. How ironic that the night skies were so great when things on the ground were anything but. Arthur tore his gaze away from the skies and looked down to his surrounding areas. It was three days after that terrible night. When Arthur and the others had to watch as the castle and city of Camelot crumbled before his very eyes. Everytime he went to sleep, those moments replayed in his dreams over and over. Tonight, he was trying to avoid sleeping so he wouldn't be plagued by any more of those nightmares.

They were in a cave system to the east of the city and what was left of the city's knights and guards were here. Some civilians had stayed but others had separated from the group to try and avoid Vortigern's wrath. Currently, his trusted knights were trying to salvage any of their forces that they could from the border outposts. Others were sent to try and get help from Camelot's allies and warn them of Vortigern's invasion plans. The news from the eastern outposts still hit Arthur hard.

After the city fell, Arthur and the others tried to head for the nearest outpost at the eastern borders but he was met with foul news. Odin had attacked the outpost and a good number of the men were either dead or captured. The ones who were able to escape had managed to learn that Odin wasn't the only one moving into the kingdom. He just hoped his knights were able to bring some measure of good news from the rest. The survivors had been included in their group to try and defend what is left. Arthur never felt so hopeless before, yet he wasn't the only one.

Merlin, was closed off and quiet for the past few days. Arthur would've preferred Merlin to be his usual talkative self to try and take his mind off what was happening. Yet, Merlin just stared off and had this sullen look on his face. Every time Arthur tried to catch his eye, Merlin would just bow his head down and become fascinated by his shoes. He knew what Merlin was feeling because he did the same thing whenever one of the citizens managed to ask about what their next move was. Arthur didn't have an answer for them. The best they could do is hope they have enough of their army to make the journey into one of his allies kingdoms for aid.

Guinevere was sleeping beside him and he moved gently, careful not to wake her. She hadn't been sleeping well either and didn't want to ruin the rare chance she had. Arthur walked about the sleeping forms of his people in a silent walk. When he got to where Gaius and Eli were, he noticed that Merlin wasn't there with them. He asked some of the men guarding the area if they'd seen him but they said they hadn't. It looked like he wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep and had to walk it off. Arthur fanned out to try and find him until he suddenly heard a voice some distance away.

"Merlin, you shouldn't blame yourself. You were outnumbered. Even I wouldn't have been able to overcome such opposition by myself."

Arthur thought the voice was vaguely familiar and he tried to be quiet as he followed the voices.

"I may know that in my head Kilgharrah...but, it still feels like it's all my fault. Everything I've been through and I thought I was ready for anything and when I finally step out of the shadows, I fail the kingdom...and Arthur. I was arrogant. Galahad was right. I wasn't ready in using my power to fly and fight at the same time. I didn't even think I could get tricked anymore."

"Well, I will say that flying and fighting at the same time is more harder than I make it look," said the Dragon with a little humor in his tone. "And, I know from my experience that blaming yourself doesn't get you anywhere Merlin. You could be spending this time to try and think about who and what you're facing."

Arthur came to a clearing and saw that Merlin was standing in front of the Great Dragon. Arthur hadn't seen it since they left Albion over a year ago. Arthur knew that Merlin was a Dragonlord but it still threw him seeing Merlin standing in front of the dragon having a conversation. Arthur decided to stay hidden and just listen in.

Merlin huffed and looked down at ground by his feet. "Well, I already know that Kilgharrah. What I'm facing is the problem. It's King Vortigern Tregor and he has an army of mighty Vikings at his command. Not to mention Mordred is with him as well as some sorcerers. Three of which are these...Thorns. They have an awful power that I've never come across before. Not to mention all those creatures at their command also."

"That is quite the opposition Merlin, I will say that it really isn't a surprise that you couldn't stop them. I did tell you once that while you may be destined to be the greatest sorcerer this world has ever seen, you are still only one sorcerer. Even the mightiest warrior would crumble to an army."

Arthur knew that to be true. He knew that he was a great warrior but even he would admit that an overwhelming force of men could overcome him. There was only so much he could fight off and it looked like the same applied to a sorcerer like Merlin.

"The only hope I see," the dragon continued. "is to have the Order of the Bear and Albion army assist you in fighting the magic that Vortigern has at his side."

Merlin looked up at the dragon and caught him in the eye. "But I don't have a choice old friend. I'm the only one willing to fight for Camelot. No other magic user is going to help. Galahad and Kay's actions made that clear when they left Camelot for me to fight alone."

"Merlin, it's been over 25 years of them being ostracized and hunted. From the emotions I felt after the peace talks in Albion, they still aren't too happy. You can't expect them to immediately swear their loyalty to Arthur and Camelot so quickly."

"Yes," Merlin said folding his arms and closing his eyes to try and block out his stress. "The Albions aren't too happy with Arthur for his condition in the truce. He thought that having magic users rounded up and placed into Albion was the best for them. Yet, all it did was anger them. They felt he took their home and sanctuary and made it into Camelot's personal prison for magic. That they had to be the shame of the land and couldn't have a home anywhere else if they wanted. I have to admit, I'm a little on their side with that. The only reason that I was even able to stay in Camelot was to be a diplomat between Albion and Camelot." Merlin furiously ran a hand through his hair at that one.

Arthur stopped listening in on them. He felt like he was just kicked in the stomach. He had no idea that he insulted all those people. He knew they were upset but he thought they understood his decision and respected it. Instead, he had blantantly disrespected them and were just too polite and tired of fighting to refuse it. Maybe he had stuck the final nail in the coffin and no longer trusted in any promises of peace which is why Galahad and Kay refused to help even when he promised their freedom? He remembered how they looked at them all when they refused to help against the Vikings. Also, he didn't know Merlin had any hard feelings about it either. He never said anything but he guessed that Merlin was used to never saying a lot of things. He didn't know how long he let his thoughts wander when he was brought back to reality when the dragon extended his wings.

"What of what you were saying of these Thorns? What about them was different from your previous foes?"

"Their magic was different from all the others. Eli told me that these Thorns used 'evil magic'. From what I felt from both Angus and Mab's attacks, I can't help but agree. It wasn't what their spells did...it was what they made me feel when they were done. My insides went cold and I heard screaming like it was in the distant corner of my mind."

'Yes,' Arthur thought. He had felt that same thing in the corridor from Mab's assault against them. The dragon seemed puzzled and even a little worried.

"Do you know what it means?" asked Merlin.

"I believe I might know the power they have but I don't want to say in case it isn't the case. Even amongst us dragons, we don't speak of it. I believe the best way would be to confirm it with the Albions to be sure. It truly is horrible to even say out loud. Just show caution around these Thorns and don't let the magic touch you directly."

Merlin looked a little surprised that the dragon would show hesitation but he just nodded "Okay. Perhaps, it would be best if you stay in the area for the time being." said Merlin. "If they or those creatures come back, I could really use the help in protecting everyone. And you might be able to be sure or not on what it is they are using."

"Don't worry Merlin. I'll be nearby." The dragon looked up. "The sun will be rising in a few hours. You should head back and try and get some rest. You need to keep up your strength."

Merlin nodded. "Thank you for the talk Kilgharrah. I'm not feeling too much better but...it did help."

"Yes, though I should warn you Merlin. The times ahead will not get any easier."

Then the dragon flapped his wings and took off into the sky. Merlin looked him take off before turning and heading back for the camp. "Of course they won't," he said as he walked on.

Arthur stayed there a little longer and thought more on what he heard. The dragon told Merlin that they would need the Order of the Bear to defeat Vortigern's magical army. It made sense to Arthur. To defeat an armada of creatures that could only be destroyed by magic, you needed an army that could use it. But one thing still puzzled him...how did Arthur slay that hippogriff when he had no magic?

* * *

In one of Camelot's bigger towns, the Vikings had made their presence known. Any soldiers and guards with Camelot's colors that had surrendered were currently in chains in the stables. Though the stable doors were open so they could listen in to the coming speech. Banners of Vortigern's were being hung and replaced those of Camelot's. Vortigern walked up on the makeshift podium made for his speech. Mordred was walking in step with his king. Mordred wore robes of the Brotherhood of the Thorn while Vortigern donned a pale green colored royal robe with his new crest of a deep green cross within a pale green triangle. It was to symbolize the great divine power within his body and of his friends. The people were looking quite nervous especially with the sight of the Thorns hovering above with some of their flying creatures.

Vortigern stood tall and cleared his throat. "People of Camelot. I am Vortigern Tregor, King of the Western Norselands and your new king!" Murmurs broke out but he ignored him. "I am proud to say that your former king Arthur Pendragon has been dethroned...permanently. Camelot has now been added to my rule. I am here to tell you that there are some new changes coming your way. And they are changes that would not hurt you in any way. In fact, I think you will all agree that you will find them to be quite pleasurable. Let me tell you that I'm not here to take anything from you. Your normal tax and tributes will continue as they normally would, just will be given to me over Arthur. The changes that I'm referring to are in regards to your laws. First, all criminals currently incarcerated under Arthur's rule are to be released." That got a few of them looking at one another in confusion. "You defied Arthur, not me. And I won't hold your pasts under him against you. Just make sure you stay out of trouble with your second chance."

Then the Vikings took all the prisoners that Arthur had in his dungeons and in the town's and ones that were in the stocks here in the town and brought them in front of the people. They took their swords and cut them all free.

Mordred pointed out to the prisoners. "You're free to go. You are released by order of King Vortigern."

As the men moved on, Vortigern continued on. "I said the laws will be what is changing. The first thing you should know is that I am revoking the ban of magic in the land." At that, the people, the freed prisoners and all the captured soldiers looked on at the flying men above them. "No one of magic will be killed, taken away or moved anywhere. You will all be free to live here in this new land. The only law that will be under the strictest enforcement is this. All opposition will not be tolerated. Any who oppose me will be put in chains. It's the only law that any good king should have in place anyway. I don't care whether you can do spells, fly or even make a stone do a dance. I've seen the great worth of magic and know it could only make the kingdom better, not worse like your former blind monarchs. All different peoples and practices will be allowed to stay. Just don't defy me or my reign and you will live peacefully in my new kingdom. Otherwise, you could find that I won't be quite as pleasant."

He pointed to the stables where the remnants of Camelot's force he captured were. "Any who wear Camelot's former colors especially will be punished. So do any who are caught in support of them and their actions. Do not worry about them," said Vortigern at the looks of concern forming on the people's faces. "I will not kill them. Public Executions will also be outlawed. I'm sure that a good many of you have family or friends that used to serve under the Pendragons in this manner. Instead of taking their lives, they will have to use their time for the sake of the kingdom they have defied. Anyone captured will be made to being in service to the kingdom in any way they could. That way they can make it up not just to me but to all of you. The main thing that they will do is rebuild the royal city for me and for all of you. However, it will be renamed as will the whole kingdom. It will be called Wirtgernesburg. This is my mercy. I doubt the Pendragons gave that kind of chance to the hundreds of people that you were forced to see burned, drowned or beheaded all these years without proof of any guilt."

Vortigern left the podium to some chatter breaking out from the people as they started to quietly talk about what they just heard. Some still looked worried but others were confused or indifferent. They still didn't know what all this really meant for them and Vortigern was happy to see his tactic was working. Vortigern made his way to his tent back at the camp set up away from the town with Mordred, Mab and Nemain behind him.

"Great speech Vortigern," said Mab.

"Thank you," he said taking an apple from the table. "How did it make me sound?"

Mordred sat at the table. "You certainly surprised them with your announcement of lifting the ban. My guess is that many of them secretly may not have liked it but you made the idea of a kingdom without the ban what they now want. You made them feel shame if they felt otherwise."

Vortigern bit into his apple. "I really sounded like a real liberator didn't I?"

"You sounded like you were being quite the merciful king by announcing that prisoners won't be executed," said Nemain. "A real humanitarian. Too bad that execution would actually be a mercy to quite a few of them over the alternative that you have prepared for them."

"Yes, speaking of that. Nemain, go and bring me two of the knights from Camelot we captured last week. It's time for my annual absorption and I'm sure that Mordred needs one himself to intensify his growing power." Mordred nodded. "Pick two of the more insolent ones. Give the resistance of the prisoners more reason to fall in line."

"Of course sire," she said with a bow before she left.

"Where is Angus?" Vortigern asked Mab.

"He left to track down Arthur for you."

"Good. I may have diminished the value of staying with him but he is still a loose end and I don't need him to unravel everything else." He bit into his apple again. "What of our allies. Have Bayard, Odin and Alined completed their tasks?"

"Yes," said Mordred. "A scout from each of them informed me that they attacked the outposts the day after we attacked Camelot and brought them all down. They are bringing all the captured men they have to their prisons. A few men managed to escape but we have the Vikings conducting patrols in the towns within the kingdom and surrounding areas to capture them."

"Good, defeated soldiers make the best slaves. And, those that don't will still be made useful as fuel."

* * *

"All of them?!" shrieked Arthur.

Leon nodded. He, Elyan, Tristan and Gwaine had come back from their mission to the outposts to try and bring the men together for an offensive but they were attacked as well. Men from Alined's kingdom and Bayard's had attacked the outposts like Odin did. They were barely able to bring back over fifty men who had escaped.

"They were attacked and destroyed Arthur." said Leon. "Not only that but the Vikings have patrols everywhere. Not just with themselves but they had some creatures and some of Vortigern's sorcerers with them. We couldn't hope to engage them and risk scattering our forces more."

Arthur nodded. "Don't worry. Your lives are more important right now then fighting battles we can't win." He looked at the men they were able to bring back. "If any of you are hurt, we still have our Physician and his assistant with us. Let him know if you are hurt and he'll try and help you with what we still have. Some of the castle's staff and servants have been able to get supplies for us without drawing attention to themselves and right now they're focusing on getting some medicine."

The men all spread about their camp while Arthur lead his knights away to speak with them in private. Percival and the remaining knights in the camp were already waiting for them. They were all filled in on the latest developments.

"What now?" asked a new knight from one of the fallen outposts.

"We'll have to wait until we have word from Godwyn, Annis and Olaf." said Elyan. "We'll need them to fend off Vortigern and his forces. They seem to be the center of all of this."

"Yes," said Leon. "There is no way that Odin, Alined and Bayard attacking when they did was a coincidence. We need them to help us push Vortigern back and then we'll focus on the others."

"No," said Arthur. "That won't work."

The knights looked at Arthur now confused. "What do you mean?" Tristan said as he asked their combined question.

Arthur ran a hand in front of his face. "Even if we do manage to join up with the others there is little hope for us in defeating Vortigern. Not only does he have an army of powerful warriors but he has armadas of creatures that could only be destroyed by magic. Our weapons merely broke on contact every time they struck those hippogriffs and gargoyles. Not to mention those giant ogres he has with them. We are powerless against them."

"I'm sure that if we were to strike with such a strong force," started one of them.

"No," said Arthur cutting him off. "In the entire attack on the city, we only managed to defeat just one of each of those creatures and we had a strong force against them before. It seems that magic is the only way to defeat them and the only reason we were able to defeat the creatures that we did was because of Merlin and his magic. An even bigger force will only give us more lost men."

"If Merlin is able to stop them then we could pit him against them and that would leave the Vikings to us." suggested another of the new knights.

Arthur shook his head. "Merlin is only one man. Great as his power is, even he could only do so much." He thought back to the conversation between Merlin and his dragon. "I hate to say this but...we have to go to Albion and ask Lord Connor for his and his Order's help."

At the king's suggestion, many of the anti-magic knights amongst them immediately put their foot down. "We shouldn't have to go begging to them for help," one of them spat. "We don't need them."

Elyan bit back an urge to punch this knight. "It looks like we may not have a choice. If Vortigern has an army that could only be destroyed by magic then we'll need an army of magic to stop him."

"How do we know that they'll even help?" the knight shot back at Elyan. "We aren't allies and they have no reason to get involved. I was there when those two from their Order of the Bear refused us. They don't care about us."

"Don't act like you're better than them," said Leon as he stomped forward. "I'm sure you wouldn't care about them either so don't talk down to them like they're scum!"

"Leon, calm yourself," said Arthur gripping his shoulder. "We don't need a fight breaking out here as well."

Leon eased himself and took a few steps back from the offender. "Yes Arthur."

"Besides, there is a good chance they will help. This time we share a common enemy. Vortigern and the sorcerers with him are old enemies to Albion." And like the proverb says, My enemy's enemy is my friend. "We also might be able to draw in some allies within the other villages and towns in Camelot."

"I don't think so sire," said a new voice.

Everyone turned and saw that it was Gale, Arthur's newest servant and he had returned with the others with fresh supplies in their arms.

"What do you mean Gale?" Arthur asked his servant. This would be the very first time that he ever really talked to him on anything outside his servant's duties. "Did something happen?"

"Word of this will soon spread. We were in Bayston and Vortigern was there."

"What did he do?" he asked quickly and hoped no harm came to any more of his people.

"He just delivered a speech there. He said that he was making changes. First, he issued that anyone imprisoned during your reign was to be released for a second chance."

This confused some of them but most could see the harm in that. By releasing so many people like that, it could them in as allies because they were grateful. Some of them may have been petty offenders that would've been released soon anyway but others could be dangerous and they would pledge service to Vortigern.

"The second thing," Gale continued. "is that he completely revoked the ban on magic." He didn't stop when the knights all started chatting amongst themselves. "He said some things about undoing what you and your father were to blind to do and declared that only those that defied him would have no place in the kingdom like a king should do."

Now Arthur was even more nervous. He had already promised Merlin that he would remove the ban but no one else knew that. The magical populace outside of Albion would look at Vortigern as their hero and if it came down to it, he knew they would support Vortigern over him. Honestly, if they did, he couldn't really blame them. They couldn't have known that he would've done that for them and if they did, they would probably trust Vortigern more as he had such strong magic willing to be at his side.

"This really is a problem," he started.

"Sire," said Gale. "There is one more thing."

This made the rest of the knights quiet down. One more? What else could Vortigern do to make everything worse. "What is it Gale? Just tell me."

"Vortigern also decreed that he wouldn't execute anyone. All prisoners that he takes will be made to work for the kingdom. He said that they will start with rebuilding Camelot though he is changing its name and the name of the kingdom into Wirtgernesburg."

Arthur clenched his fist and grit his teeth.

Leon looked at him in concern "Arthur?"

"Prepare the camp to move. We have to head south for Albion."

"Sire," started one of the knights again about resorting to magic

"Don't argue with me!" That made all of them step back from him. "Just do it!"

Arthur took off to start packing with Gwen and everyone took that as the symbol to move out as well. They never noticed Merlin moving away from his spot behind the brush and also stomping away to pack.

* * *

"Merlin," asked Gwaine as they were moving. "How much farther is it to Albion from here?"

Merlin thought on it. "Err, from here I would say that we would get to Albion in roughly three or four days."

"But how do we even know that Albion is even still standing?" he asked. "Vortigern and his allies are spreading throughout the kingdom."

"Don't worry. The Order of the Bear and the people of Albion can take care of themselves. They've had a long time to do so I guess," he said as an afterthought.

"Yeah," Gwaine said trying not to look at Arthur on that one. "I guess they had to." After a few moments he shrugged it off. "I just hope they have plenty to drink. I could really use one after everything that's happened."

That made Merlin smile a little. They were had been lucky in avoiding trouble ever since they escaped Camelot. Merlin didn't know any cloaking spells like the one the Thorns used to disguise their army but he had made due with making foggy covers for them. They were more natural looking anyway and were quite common around this time of year anyway. He just hoped that their luck held up until they made it to Albion.

Suddenly a shadow passed over them in an instant but it drew nearly everyone's attention.

"What was that?" asked Gwen.

"Was that a bird?" asked Percival.

"No," said Arthur. "That looked too big to be a bird."

Then one of the people screamed as they pointed up into the sky and they all saw that it was a hippogriff and it screeched as it dived at them. The people in it's way ducked to the ground and avoided it's claws.

"Arthur," said Elyan pointing behind them.

They looked to see over three dozen Vikings charging at them with their swords held high.

"Prepare for battle," he said pulling his sword out and all his men did the same.

The knights engaged the Vikings while all the civilians grouped up behind them and tried to ease away from the fighting. Merlin was about to cast a spell to help when a blast hit the ground at the left of him and just missed him.

"No, no, I don't think so." It was Angus. He was above Merlin with seven hippogriffs flapping their wings behind him. "I'm your opponent, not them."

Merlin grit his teeth. He might be recovered at this point but he wouldn't dare risk flying now. Besides, it was clear that if he took this to the air, Angus would have the advantage. His only hope would be to draw him to the ground somehow and avoid a direct hit from any of his spells. He still didn't understand how they had that effect on him but he knew it wasn't good.

Arthur and his men fought back against the might of the Vikings. They were a bundle of nerves in fighting these men. They were a lot different from other warriors they faced. Everytime they clashed with one, it was like fighting a raging force on the other end of the sword rather than a man. They were tough and they once more, the Vikings knew it. He managed to hit his opponent with a vital blow and caught a glimpse of the battlefield when he had the moment. The knights and soldiers were fighting off the Vikings while a few of them were with all the civilians who were far off and watching everything with fear in their eyes. Gwen was there with them and he was thankful. Merlin was fighting Angus, or rather was dodging every attack he shot from the sky and returned it with a spell of his own which Angus flew from with ease. That was all he was able to take in before he engaged another Viking.

Back with Merlin and Angus, Merlin was getting madder that Angus was making sport with him. Angus was too far in the sky as well as too experienced in flight to let Merlin let him get in a fatal hit. He had the power to stop him but it would do no good if he couldn't hit him. Luckily, he had sent Kilgharrah a mental call and should be arriving soon.

However, it wouldn't be soon enough as Angus delivered a fatal situation.

"This is getting boring Merlin. I was hoping for more from the esteemed Emrys," he shouted as he side-flew from one of Merlin's blasts.

"Come down here and say that."

"Why don't I instead do this to up the tension. Your king and his fellow knights are busy with the Vikings and I'm battling you. Yet, those people down there are left out...and so are my hippogriffs."

Merlin didn't want to believe his ears. "Leave them out of this."

"Too late." He looked to his winged minions. "Have some lunch," he said pointing to the civilians.

"No!" he shouted as the hippogriffs took off for the people.

He went to try and run to them but a blast from Angus blew him off his feet and he landed some feet away on the ground. He wasn't the only one to look in despair. Arthur heard what Angus said and savagely slew his opponent and ran for them as well. They both watched as the first hippogriff went for a woman - Gwen. She screamed as it closed in as did Arthur and Merlin.

But the hippogriff was suddenly blown back and fell some feet away, dead. As for the other ones, a twister suddenly went for them before they could charge for the citizens and they were blown to pieces as they were caught in it.

"My hippogriffs," cried Angus frantically. "What happened to you?"

The twister suddenly fazed out and within it was a spinning man who slowly stopped and they all saw that it was Kay. There looked to be two little twisters underneath his two feet that seemed to be keeping him just above all of the people.

Gwen looked up at him until a glimmer caught her eye. It was from a sword that was glowing a low tint of blue. And connected to it. "Galahad!" she screamed.

Arthur and Merlin looked off and saw that it was truly Galahad. Now it was obvious who saved Gwen from that hippogriff. Arthur took a moment to be thankful to Galahad before he wondered what he and Kay were doing out here.

"You all okay," asked Kay as he looked down at everyone.

"We're okay," said Eli with a smile at seeing two famed members of the Order coming to their rescue.

"Well, well," said Angus moving closer to them still in the air. "Sir Kay. It's been a while hasn't it."

Kay grit his teeth and looked back at him in disgust. "Angus. We thought you were dead. Well, hoped for it really."

"Happy to disappoint you." Angus looked down at Galahad. "And Sir Galahad too. How is Clara doing these days?" he asked a little mockingly. "I hope she is still as lovely as ever."

Galahad just leered at him and looked him over. "I see you have your left arm back. How did you manage that? Last time we met, I was sure that I severed it."

"Oh you did," Angus said baring his teeth. "It took some work but I was able to get a new one."

"Good for you. I hope for your sake that it could get you a new head too."

Angus just sent a blast for Galahad but he sent a blast of energy of his own from his sword and cancelled it out. Then Kay punched the air and sent a gust of compressed air for Angus that hit him in the stomach and forced him back a little from everyone. Kay went for him with Galahad running after him on the ground.

With Angus now busy, Merlin looked to where the knights were still fighting and sent all of the Vikings on their backs with a gesture. They were frazzled as they went to get back up and soon fell to Camelot's swords.

Galahad ran and pointed his sword down behind him. He released a blast down and used it to propel himself in the air like a bolt from a crossbow. He then raised his sword and made to strike when he approached Angus. Angus saw him coming and raised his hands in front of him and conjured a shield to absorb the hit. Sparks flew from both the shield and his sword as Galahad tried to force his way through it. Kay made his way over and sent another twister of power at Angus to help Galahad break through. The shield now had Galahad's and Kay's power to stand against and it started to crumble before it collapsed. Angus flew back to avoid Galahad's blade and only got slightly grazed in the chest.

Galahad started to fall down before everyone's eyes. Merlin was about to shout a spell to catch him but Galahad acted before he could. He took his sword and sent a blast of air straight down which launched him up and he went for Kay who had his hand out to catch him. They were both in the air now and Galahad was leaning slightly on his shoulder as they faced down Angus.

Arthur and Merlin were amazed at the trust Galahad apparently had in Kay. He didn't look worried when he was falling at all and seemed to know that he wouldn't hit the ground. Kay also knew that Galahad would be able to reach him as he didn't try to use a spell to save him and just waited for Galahad to get to him. A sorcerer and a swordsman fighting as one. Privately, they both wondered if they could develop that same trust between them.

Angus hovered and looked back at the two of them. "I see you two haven't lost your touch."

"Did you hope we would?" asked Kay. "We knew that scum like you were out there and we stayed in top form for whenever we would run into you again."

"Yes, well I've improved myself. Not to mention, I've had a good steady supply of fuel to feed on and build up my power."

"You're still into that sacriligious "art" as you call it." said Galahad slitting his eyes in anger.

"Of course, what would you pitiful ones call it."

"An abomination, that's what," said Kay. "Besides, if I remember correctly, you had a steady supply before and we pitiful ones still defeated you."

Angus now lost his cool. "You were just lucky! But you're luck is about to run out."

"I think their luck is only getting better," shouted Merlin.

"What?"

There was a loud screech before Kilgharrah was starting to come into focus and heading for them. Angus looked from the dragon to Galahad and Kay with some sweat coming down. He made a rude gesture with his hand before disappearing from sight.

"At least, one thing stayed the same as before," said Galahad as Kay brought them down. "Angus is still the same spineless coward."

"We'll get him," said Kay as their feet touched the ground. "He can't get away forever."

They made their way back to everyone and Kilgharrah went and touched down nearby. Merlin got to the two of them first and gave each one a hug.

"It's great to see you two again."

Gwen ran for Galahad and gave him a hug. "Thank you for your help Galahad."

"My pleasure Gem."

Arthur got to them. "What are you two doing out here?"

"Oh, we were just heading back to Albion. We were camped a little bit from here and heard the noise. We came to see what it was and stumbled on all of this. We didn't expect to run into Angus again." Kay looked back into the sky where Angus had been. "He's a vile human being. Barely even that."

"Yeah," said Merlin. "We noticed that."

"But," started Gwen. "You two left Camelot days ago. How is it that you are here? I thought you would've been in Albion by now."

"Oh," said Galahad. "We went into some of the nearby towns and villages to see if there was a good gift I could buy for my Clara around here. I finally found something just the other day in Bayston and we started the trek back to Albion. Now, what are all of you doing out here?"

They were all surprised. Merlin dropped his arms. "You mean you don't know?"

"Know what?" asked Kay.

"Camelot fell to the Vikings last week. They're being led by Vortigern Tregor," explained Arthur. "I believe you know him."

Galahad and Kay caught each other's eyes. "Vortigern. That brat? He has a new army?" asked Kay.

"Kay, it has been over seven years since we've seen him. He is almost Arthur's age."

"Yeah, you're right." He turned back to everyone. "So, he took your city."

"No," said Merlin in a small voice. "He destroyed it." Everyone around him bit back tears and looks of anguish at the memory of the city crumbling. "He and the Thorns. And they've gotten some of the kings of the land to join them as well."

"So," Galahad said bringing his hand to rub his chin. "They've decided to come to Britain after all. Guess Vortigern decided that some kings allied with him will have to do over a flying castle like his father."

"We better have everyone else know this fast." said Kay.

"Hold it," said Arthur bringing them out of their private world. "Could you please explain all of this."

"It's a long story," said Galahad as he and Kay started to go off. "A very long story and it's one we'll have to tell in pieces and on the move. Angus retreated and no doubt he'll head for reinforcements. He'll try to attack before the two of us could have a chance to regroup with the others."

Everyone else went to pick up their discarded valuables and started to follow Galahad and Kay. Merlin went over to them as they went to get ready. "Galahad, before you say anything. I want to say that you were right. I was far from ready and should have worked more on extending my time in the air before fighting while flying. I should have listened to you."

Galahad just brushed him off. "Don't worry about it. At least you know that now."

Merlin nodded as he finally got that off his chest before a glimpse of Eli made him remember another thing he really needed to talk with them about. "Another thing that I need to know now is about the Thorns and their magic. Eli said that they used an evil form of magic and I heard what you were saying about it when you fought Angus."

Their eyes darkened at that. Arthur, who wasn't too far, stopped what he was doing and listened in on them.

"The magic of the thorns," started Kay. "It is bad enough to even call what they do magic. It is bad enough that we have to use the same term for it. It is pure evil."

"How?" Merlin asked.

"First," said Galahad. "Merlin, you've battled them already, right?" At his nod he continued. "I'm sure that you've heard the screams following their spells too."

"I did. They were faint but I heard them and they were bone-chilling."

_Far away from them, three of the captured Knights of Camelot from the city's siege were brought before Vortigern. Nemain pointed out that they were speaking out to the other prisoners in trying to further resist anything Vortigern did. Vortigern asked for which was the most outspoken one and she pointed him out. He was taken to the side to be the witness._

"That would be because of the source and energy behind that power. It's what remains of them. Their echoes of their suffering and despair. They call it fuel but its really from their victims."

"Victims?" asked Merlin.

_Vortigern set himself before one of them while Mordred went to the other. They both took the bottom of their chins and forced them to open their mouths. Mab stood behind Vortigern and chanted the ritual spell for Vortigern while Mordred did it for himself. Mab's eyes glowed and went a pale grey while Mordred's a pale blue to match his own eyes. The two knights started screaming.  
_

Galahad continued. "It doesn't matter who they choose though a few of the Thorns had preferences but it still is terrible no matter who they pick."

"What do they do to them?"

Galahad seemed to be fighting to try and bring it out. "They...consume souls."

_A light suddenly peeked out of the knights' mouths as Vortigern and Mordred opened theirs. The light flowed out of the victim's mouths and went into theirs. The knights' skin started to go pale the longer the process went. They even started having veins visible around their eyes and mouths as their souls were being drained. Vortigern's eyes glowed white as he took in the soul and a blue aura started to surround Mordred. The screams from the knights soon started dying down before they fell silent.  
_

"It gives them stronger powers without having to train themselves. The more souls they consume at a time then the more powerful their magic is before they need to re-vitalize the power when it gets drained."

"That's...that's disgusting," said Merlin in both anger and fear. Arthur also paled at that bit of news.

"Yes, " said Kay. "We all thought so too when we first found out."

"And that was just with the Thorns magic," said Galahad. "There was more to it then just simple bursts of power. It seems the Tregors had also consumed souls as well. Though all but Vortigern but it seems like he might've started."

"Why?" asked Merlin. "For their own magic."

"Well, in Lord Patrick Tregor and Prince Robert Tregor, yes. But King Palin Tregor and Princess Katrina Tregor, they did it in a bid to stop their aging in a bid to live forever."

_When Vortigern and Mordred were done, they stood up with a smile as the knights on the ground had no light in their eyes at all. They were white as ghosts and even seemed to have lost some weight. They were still breathing but didn't have a soul to do anything but just keep breathing. The last knight was looking back at them with terror and tears in his eyes. Vortigern ordered for him to be taken back and was warned to do what he could to take back what he was saying about resisting or he would be next and join them in their bellies. He then ordered for the empty husks to be given to the creatures for a snack._

"Palin Tregor wanted to be able to not only conquer other lands, but to rule them beyond the time of a mortal king." said Galahad. "However, we stopped him and the rest of his family from realizing that dream. "Well, all except Vortigern. He managed to escape us with the other three Thorns left."

"And, it's only a matter of time before he starts to try to become an immortal king, if he hasn't started consuming souls already." added Kay.

Merlin nodded his head. "Then we just need to stop him, like you and the others did his father back on Eire." Arthur agreed with Merlin's sentiment entirely.

"Yes, but that's to be seen," said Galahad. "We have to get back to Albion. This situation is a lot more complicated then you might think."

* * *

**End of Chapter 10**

A/N: I hope you all loved this chapter. How do you like the evil secret behind the Thorns and Mordred's new power. Or even what Vortigern is using it for. FYI, his renaming of Wirtgernesburg is behind the story of Vortigern. It roughly means 'Vortigern's Stronghold' and I loved that it meant that and fit perfectly with everything. Tell me what you think


	11. Return to Albion

**Dangers in the Path to Destiny**

A/N: I'm glad there has been so much love for the excitement. I'm also glad that someone liked the fact that Kay and Galahad are back.

* * *

_The human soul is God's treasury, out of which he coins unspeakable riches_

~Henry Ward Beecher

* * *

Chapter 11: Return to Albion

The party traveling to Albion were all alert and more ready than they've ever been in the last week. Now that they've just been attacked, they were now shaken to the core. Now it seemed that they were going to expect an attack with every new distant sound or breeze that blew . What brought up the tension even more was the fact that there was a dragon completely visible to all of them. Merlin could see how most of them refused to take their eye off Kilgharrah so he asked him to move a little out of the way. He wasn't happy about it but obliged the dragonlord.

Yet, for a select few of them, they were too set on their new destination to be jumpy. Soon, they all came to the spot where Galahad and Kay had set up their camp. They already had a fire going with some meat cooking over it. But, they went and gave it to some of the hungry kids in their group as they started to pack up their camp. While they did, the knights all watched them with wonder. While some of them had seen them train on the grounds, they've never actually seen the two of them in actual combat. So many of their men were killed in fighting against those hippogriffs and they weren't able to destroy not one of them. Yet, the two of them destroyed seven of them in barely a moment. Galahad slew one with his magical blade while Kay destroyed a group in just one magical attack. Not to mention how both of them fought against Angus in the air. They never saw people use magic that way and they were suddenly very thankful they didn't fight against them last year.

Arthur went over to them and put his hand on Galahad's right shoulder. "Galahad, thank you for saving Gwen. She would probably be dead right now if it weren't for you."

He packed in some cloth into a bag and looked at him. "Don't worry about it. Gwen is my friend too." Galahad then went back to what he was doing. "I'm just glad that I was able to slay the hippogriff."

Arthur looked over at Galahad's sword. "Your sword could slay them. We all tried with ours but they broke on contact."

"Not surprising," he said gripping it. "Hippogriffs are special creatures that only magic could slay. Magic or magical weapons. Nothing else will effect them."

Arthur's heart jumped. "So that's really true?"

"Afraid so," said Kay.

Arthur nodded. Now he was confused. If that really was the case then how did he slay the hippogriff. He didn't have a weapon like Galahad's and he wasn't a sorcerer. He also knew that Merlin hadn't used magic in his battle against that Ogre or the Hippogriff. Then what made him able to do what his men couldn't? Could...could it be with how he was born? Was that was the reason? Could that have made him a magical human weapon? He wanted to ask them both these questions desperately but he didn't want his men or Gwen to hear them. No one outside their party who went to Albion knew that about him and he wanted to keep it that way right now.

"That was amazing," said Merlin breaking Arthur from his thoughts. "You were both impressive. I couldn't have fought Angus like that."

Kay and Galahad actually seemed a little embarrassed. Kay was rubbing the back of his head. "Well, we did have years of fighting against the Thorns. Especially Angus. He always managed to run away before we could stop him forever."

Merlin remembered the feedback from the evil power that Angus used against him. It kept him from getting to close. However, he remembered how these two fought him. "How did you two fight him? I blocked one of his soul powered magic attacks and I felt the effects quickly. You were practically at his face when he was using his magic and didn't seem to black out but his power made me unconscious. Even after I woke I was still a little weak but you two seem fine."

"We felt the same thing," said Arthur. "When Mab attacked back at the castle, I felt and heard the souls behind her evil magic myself. I felt...cold."

Galahad and Kay didn't answer right away but finished with packing up their gear. When they were done, Kay turned to both of them. "There is a good reason why we're okay. We were protected."

"Protected?" asked Merlin. He had to know what they were protected with. He had been too scared of getting close to Angus during their battle and it nearly got Gwen hurt. "How? I didn't see you place a shield over yourselves before you engaged Angus." Arthur and his knights also listened intently for their secret.

"It was from this," Galahad pointed to his robes. The blue robes of the Order of the Bear. "The fabric of our colors are imbued with protective magic to block out the effects from the Thorns and their evil art."

"Really?" Merlin looked their robes over. He focused his senses on their clothes and he could indeed feel something dormant within. It actually made him feel warm inside, the opposite of what Angus had done to him. "Great foresight to wear it."

"The protection is in every uniform of Albion," explained Kay. "Even after the war was over, we still kept it on everyone's colors so they're always protected because you could never be sure. We knew that the Thorns were still out there and there were those that were drawn into their blasphemic power."

"We should get moving," said Galahad. "We don't need Angus to bring an entire legion of his creatures with him. We may be good but it would only be two of us." He looked over to the people watching them. "If any of you want a safe place to stay, you can come along with us to Albion. You should be safe there...as long as you don't cause trouble."

"What do you mean by that?" asked one of the older knights.

But he didn't answer and he and Kay took off down the path. Merlin asked Kilgharrah to stay a little back to watch for any chance of pursuit. Arthur ordered everyone to move on and follow the two Albion warriors. Most of them stayed a good respectable distance from the two Albions as they moved on.

* * *

Over where Camelot once stood was now just a pile of rubble over the entire city limit. Nemain was with their other sorcerers they had on their side and clearing away the rubble by making it all vanish into nothing. They were right over where the castle was and were trying to make their way to the vaults. They wanted to see what magical devices the Pendragons had collected that could be of use to them. Some were bound to be objects of great power that would've eluded Uther and Arthur's attention as they were ignorant of anything of magical nature.

Mordred was overseeing all of their prisoners, captured from Camelot's forces, they were stripped of all their weapons, armor and mail but they still had the colors of Camelot on. They were made to wear them to mark them as eternal slaves to the new kingdom of Wirtgernesburg. They were clearing the rubble from the destroyed homes of Camelot by hand. Placing them in carts and moving them away from the city. Any remaining sorcerers not helping Nemain were taking the stones and changing them to building materials to fashion a new castle that they would build for Vortigern. Mordred smiled as he saw the men all toil and work with their new 'vermin' status. The same status that his kin had been given by their former kings was now their status under their new king.

As for King Vortigern, he was meeting with his allies nearby. Alined, Bayard and Odin were watching the site of Camelot in awe. They had delivered all the captured forces of Camelot they had to Vortigern per his request and now were admiring his victory.

"To think," started Alined. "You actually destroyed Camelot. I was here years ago and thought it was almost impossible for the city to fall but you made it fall in all ways possible."

Odin nodded and gave a satisfied grin to Vortigern. "I wanted Arthur Pendragon to pay in all ways possible for the death of my son. First he suffered the loss of his father and now he's lost his kingdom. I hope his suffering will now match the suffering he gave me these years tenfold."

"Trust me Odin," said Vortigern. "I think that now Arthur's suffering will be without end, at least, until he has his life end."

Bayard had been speechless this whole time but he felt that he had to say something. "I-I can't believe what has even happened. You took one of the greatest kingdoms and crowns in the land and defeated it in under a week."

"And you were worried?" he said with a smirk. "Camelot's great army is now my kingdom's slave supply. And this is only the beginning."

"Yes, that's right," said Alined. "We still have Annis, Olaf and Godwyn's lands to conquer."

Vortigern held up a hand to calm the war hungry king. "Patience Alined. Patience." he said patting his arm to keep him from jumping. "We'll get to them soon enough. Don't you worry about that. There is no need to hurry."

"Are you sure about that?" asked Bayard. "Delays will only give them time to strengthen their defenses."

Vortigern then let out a small laugh. "They can strengthen them all they want. No defense they muster will hold against the forces of magic under my command. And, it will only get stronger. By now, not only is word of Camelot's fall reaching the corners of this island. So is the news that I've ended the Great Purge of magic permanently. Sorcerers from their lands will soon make their way to me to swear loyalty to their new hero. They will add power to my already formidable forces and combined with yours, it would be amazing if the defenses the others amass could stand for more than a few days."

"I suppose," Bayard said becoming a little more convinced.

"What about Arthur?" asked Odin. "He still is on the run. That could still spell some problems for us."

"Don't worry about him Lord Odin. He's most likely trying to head towards one of his three remaining allies for help. When we swoop them all, there will be no place for him to hide."

Just then, there was a furious glint of light and Angus appeared before them with sparks surrounding his body. "King Vortigern, I have urgent news."

Vortigern's eyes caught the small wound that Angus was trying to hide and nodded in understanding. "Excuse me gentleman. It would seem that there is still much for me to still attend to in a newly conquered land." The three of them bowed as Vortigern led Angus away to his personal tent where Mab was enjoying some tea. "What happened to you?" he asked baring his teeth. Angus wasn't the type to just barge in on him with news unless it was bad news.

Angus took a cloth and dampened it before he put it over his wound to start cleaning it. "I found Arthur Pendragon and what's left of his men."

"You mean they did that to you?" he asked a little shocked.

Angus shook his head furiously. "Of course not. I would never fall to the likes of them. Besides it just a flesh wound. Nothing that the energy of a fresh soul won't immediately fix. No, it was...Galahad and Kay."

This made both Vortigern and Mab widen their eyes. "What?!" they both screamed.

"It would seem that Arthur is trying to seek aid from Albion. They were heading for the south. I stumbled on to them with my men and it looked like I might just be able to finally take them until those two showed up. They destroyed the hippogriffs I had with me and that gave Arthur's men the time to slay my men." He looked to his wound. "I wasn't expecting them. If I was, I know I wouldn't have been driven back so easily."

"Excuses Angus," Mab said with a sneer. "That's what you're using to justify your failure to Vortigern."

"As if you would've done better Mab." he shot back.

"You know it." she said leaning in her chair smugly.

"Enough," said Vortigern. "We need to think." He started to pace. This wasn't boding well. The last thing he needed was for the Albions to get involved before he was ready for them. "By now, Arthur would've told those two about us now. He would plead to them for help in reclaiming their land."

"We should attack them quickly," said Angus. "Stop them before they could reach Albion and start to prepare themselves for us."

"Right away, wrong." said Vortigern shaking his finger. "That might come back and bite us."

Mab crossed her arms. "What do you mean?"

"While Arthur may plead to Albion for help, I never did say they would...despite our past with them. Let's not forget that Camelot and Albion aren't exactly friends. The last thing we want is to do anything to unify them. If we attack them now then we would only cause them to join forces with each other over a common enemy. Right now, there is still strong tension between them."

"So, we should do nothing?" asked Angus a little surprised.

"No...but I say let them fight with each other before bringing up the idea of fighting us. Easier to fight Camelot and then Albion then fighting them both at the same time. Separately, we can destroy them. The last thing we want is for all of our enemies to converge at us as one."

"Not to mention that you just announced the end of the Great Purge. It might deter potential magical allies if you were seen launching an attack on a large group of magic users so soon after." added Mab. "You might be made out to be as appealing as the Pendragons for the magical population to serve. If they come to attack us, it would be different though."

"You're right Mab. See Angus, she gets it." Angus turned his nose up while Vortigern looked out of the flap of his tent to see his allies. "Also, we have a schedule to keep with the others. If we break from it then we could lose their confidence and their men are important for our long term plans."

"And who knows..." said Mab. "Camelot is on the verge of being just a memory now. The Albions might decide to finish our work and just kill them themselves as there is no reason to hold their truce anymore. Especially if that traitor Flint or his men get their hands on Arthur."

"Enough about what could happen. Let's focus on what will happen. Conquering the remaining kingdoms. As for Odin, Alined and Bayard. I'm going to suggest they move on in a few days and attack the others soon enough. And I want you two as well as Nemain to go and have each of you be paired with one of them. After you assist them in conquering the last of the rulers here, arrange an 'accident' for them."

The two of them chuckled and bowed. Yet, when Angus left the tent to go and consume a soul so he could re-fuel himself, he grit his teeth. He wouldn't just allow the Albions to have time. Vortigern might be craftier than his father but a little too overconfident. Some of what he said made sense but why should they give them more time than necessary. If Arthur informed the Albions about their presence here then they would move to get ready to fight them. Better make a strike at them before they could become as ready as possible. Allow them the time to possibly kill Arthur and his men in spite and then move in. But how?

* * *

Arthur was in the middle of a field where there were creatures feasting on the corpses of his knights and he could see Camelot crumbling slowly before him. There were broken swords and snapped spears everywhere and he could see people running away all around where he was. There was tall flames enveloping the distance and the only place that seemed untouched by the chaos was the spot he was standing in. He just felt the need to just start yelling and then suddenly bits of light erupted from his body and struck down all the creatures. He was shocked of what he just did. He noticed a deep puddle and walked to it and caught his reflection and then screamed even more terribly than before.

Arthur sat up in a pool of sweat. He was breathing very harshly as he took in his new surroundings. He was in the woods with people all around trying to sleep and stay warm by their fires. He caught a glimpse of Galahad and Kay off in a corner of the campsite sleeping with only Merlin, Gaius, and Eli nearby, sleeping themselves. Anyone else was unwilling to be near them. Arthur's most trusted knights were watching over them all a bit aways. Arthur had to get up and walk away these nerves he now had. That nightmare was the worst one yet. His recent unsaid questions about himself and with all of this madness were starting to wear on his mind. The biggest one of all: What was he?

He started to walk farther away from the lights of the camp with no real place in mind for him to go. He was so caught up in his thoughts that his heart almost jumped at the new voice. "Where are you off to?"

Arthur looked around and he caught sight of the glowing eyes of Merlin's dragon. The Great Dragon. The same one that had attacked Camelot so long ago and until last year was sure was dead. Yet, right now it was looking over him with curiosity and...concern? He got over the shock and tried to compose himself.

"I was taking a walk." That sounded lame, even to him.

The dragon didn't say anything about that though. He just lowered his head a little. "You do seem to be a little troubled. Granted, with what has happened, it would be more troubling if you weren't."

"You mean losing my kingdom and my army within a week and now being on the run like a renegade? Now, why wouldn't that trouble me?" he asked in a tone that he usually used on Merlin when he was annoyed with him. Though, Arthur remembered too late that he wasn't talking with Merlin but to a big dragon that would have no qualms having him for lunch. It wasn't his fault, this dragon spoke almost like him.

Yet, the dragon just chuckled to himself. "I can now see why the young warlock gets both concerned and annoyed with you from time to time."

At the indirect mention of Merlin, he was reminded of stumbling on his conversation with the dragon the other night and looked back as if he could see Merlin intruding on his own. Yet, all he could see was darkness and the distant glow of the camp's fires. "Well dragon."

"Kilgharrah," the dragon huffed. "I do have a name Arthur like yourself."

"Right...Kilgharrah." he said. He had clearly annoyed the dragon and didn't want to risk anything. "I'm actually glad I ran into you because I have a few questions and I think you just might be able to answer them."

"With how you've regarded me just now, I don't believe that I'm in the mood to indulge you. While your destiny is tied to Merlin's and he is my dragonlord, I am under no bounds to you."

"Forgive me," he said. "I just didn't know you had a formal name."

"And why wouldn't I?" Kilgharrah asked. "Did you just assume we were referred to as dragon all the time. If I'm not mistaken, I'm sure you did hear my name spoken a few times in Albion before."

While that may be true, the truth was that Arthur really had paid it now mind and thought that it was a magical term or title they had been calling him at the time. So he made no effort to have it placed into memory. "I just didn't think about it."

"Well, I will say that unless you start soon, you will never get the help you need in taking back your kingdom. Merlin could only assist you so far before you have to assure the success of giving your people the help they need."

"What do you mean?"

"In Albion, there are a lot of people there that have suffered because of your father's ignorance and blind arrogance. Both the magical and non-magical alike. In more ways than you could imagine."

"You make it sound as if Camelot hadn't been suffering at all," he shot back. Magic wasn't blameless in this at all. That he knew perfectly. "Magic isn't as innocent as all of you make it sound. Your love of it blinds you to that."

"It's as innocent or guilty as the people who wield it. The same could be said of the swords you and your men put such value in. I'm sure you've seen many evil men use swords to commit evil yet your love of swordsmanship ignores that truth, doesn't it?"

Arthur tried not to flinch at that. He didn't want to compare his art of the sword with that of magic. He wanted to move back on track. "What did you mean about Merlin not being able to give us the help we needed?"

Kilgharrah snarled and sharpened his eyes at him. "I believe you just answered your own question. The Albions won't help you and I wouldn't blame them if they took out their bent up rage on you. You have yet a lot to learn of the world beyond what you know."

A riddle? Arthur hated riddles. He wondered if the dragon did this to Merlin as well or he was just trying to be difficult with him. "Well, I'm not going to learn what isn't relevant to our problem if you keep me going in circles. There is time for me to learn about all of this after Vortigern is stopped."

Kilgharrah knew that Merlin often had a hard time with guiding Arthur on his path but he didn't realize that it was impossible. He knew that for Vortigern's evil to be stopped, it would start with him learning some of the most painful truths of all. "Perhaps...but I believe you wanted to ask me something that I doubt has much to do with Albion or Merlin."

Arthur thought back to why he had wandered through the woods at night anyway. "I thought you didn't feel like doing me a favor?"

"I've changed my mind." he said simply.

"Well...it's about something that happened back at the battle. I...slew one of the hippogriffs that attacked us but from what I heard, it could only be destroyed by magic."

"Yes, and?"

"Well...if anything I know I didn't use magic at all. What I want to know is if my...birth is what made it possible? If it did something to me."

Kilgharrah looked at Arthur silently and it only made Arthur nervous, that is until he broke in small laughter.

"This is funny?" asked Arthur.

"Sorry. The thought and idea you just proposed was what was amusing. It is Merlin who was born to be magic itself, but while you were born by magic, you don't have it."

"So...what then? How did I stop that creature? They said only magic or a magical weapon could stop it."

"Then you have your answer again," said Kilgharrah. "Take the time and actually think about it this time."

Arthur grit his teeth. Can't he just tell him? Stupid dragon. '_Okay_,' he thought. _'If he didn't have magic then that only left_-' "Wait," he said unsheathing his sword. "It was Excalibur?"

"Yes," Kilgharrah said letting out a relieved sigh. "I almost was ready to doubt you. Your weapon is infused with magic. My magic as a matter a fact."

"What? How is that possible? I pulled this out of that stone that Merlin..." Merlin, of course. Why didn't he remember that sooner.

"Long ago, Merlin came to me with a sword and asked me to infuse it with the power to be able to defeat the dead in an effort to save you. I forged it with the power of my breath and made it into the ultimate sword. It is able to slay virtually anything."

A sword that can slay anything? He'd been carrying a magical weapon this entire time? "Merlin made this, for me?"

"Yes. However, when it was made, I warned him that it's power was greater than slaying simple undead creatures. It was made for the purpose of being used for you and only Merlin and yourself can use it without harm coming to anyone. However, it was your father who used it against that wraith you were meant to fight and Merlin hid it away until the time came for it to be passed to you."

Arthur looked the blade over. Now that he thought of it, he couldn't remember asking Excalibur to be sharpened or polished since he'd had it. Also, when he was attacked by that spell in the first battle, he was able to deflect it with this very sword. In some ways, he was relieved that it wasn't him. But now, there was another issue for him to deal with. He was using a weapon of magic and brandished it in battle with his men.

"So, this blade has magic in it. Like Galahad's sword? It can blast creatures and enemies from afar?"

"No," Kilgharrah said shaking his head. "You can't compare the two. His blade was infused by the magic of a sorcerer and while it may be strong, its strength pales to yours. It may not be able to have the tricks that Galahad's has but it is a weapon so great that it doesn't need it. Therefore, you would do well to keep that sword safe."

Arthur felt the sword getting heavier. Just what was he holding? How could he use a weapon like this when magic was something that still made him unsure on some levels. It was one thing for Merlin or the Albions using it, but it was something else for him to be using it.

"Thank you," he said as he re-sheathed his sword and started to walk back for the camp. He hoped to find the answers but he almost wished he didn't get them. Now, he was more confused than before.

* * *

After two days of tense travel, Merlin finally broke into the first real smile in days. "We're almost there," he shouted to everyone.

"Really?"

He wasn't sure who had asked but everyone seemed to be behind the question. Even the ones who were against the idea seemed to actually be glad that they were getting close.

"Trust us," said Kay. "We know this land like the back of our own hands."

Galahad nodded to no one in particular. "We should get to the clearing in a few moments that opens to the village and the surrounding valley."

Everyone started to move quickly down the trail and, like Galahad said, it took only a few moments before they left the woods and came upon a clearing. The village they had found that now belonged to Albion also came into sights. Arthur was glad that they finally made it...though he noticed some changes from the last time he was there. First, there seemed to be a line of stones that seemed to mark a boundary. They were ankle high and were apart about five meters from another like fence posts. The stones also seemed to let out shimmers every now and then randomly. Also, Arthur could see some wooden towers had been built and Albion soldiers were occupying them.

"Home," Galahad said with a smile and it made Kay smile as well.

"Let's move," Merlin said stepping beyond the line and into Albion territory.

When everyone made to follow him, there was a flash and a giant circle of flame appeared out of nowhere in front of them. The knights were about to draw their swords when Kay chuckled.

"Flint. How are you doing?"

Suddenly, the flame died out and left behind a man with red hair wearing the colors and mail of the Order of the Bear. Behind him were about a half dozen other men in the same colors. Arthur, Guinevere, and Camelot's best knights remembered him as the one that welcomed them into the city of Albion before. The knights recognized the first as the firery sorcerer who had launched that giant blast at them back during their first visit.

Flint just smiled at the sight of his fellow comrades. "Galahad, Kay, and Merlin too," he said looking at each of them. "You're back. And early too. I thought you weren't due back for at least another three weeks. Unless, you brought some more guests," he said looking back to the people behind them. "So many?" He then caught sight of Arthur and the knights and his smile was wiped off and replaced by a scowl. "What are they doing here?"

"Seems like there was some trouble back in Camelot and they need a temporary place to stay," started Galahad.

"Why? What could've happened to make them come here?" asked one of the Albions behind Flint.

"Camelot fell to invaders a little over a week ago." Merlin explained.

"Really?" asked Flint with surprised eyes. "Well that warrants action."

"It does?" asked Arthur.

"Yes. This one." Flint brought his hand up and fired a ball of flame that soon exploded in the air and sent sparks everywhere. It was a firework. "It would be much better after the sun goes down." The Albions started to giggle at that one.

Arthur and the knights just glared at Flint for that display. Some of them gripped their swords. Merlin wasn't happy either.

"That's not funny Flint."

"Good, because I wasn't making a joke." he said staring at him with a blank face. "That was the least that this news called for. And my friends here would agree with me." The Albions either nodded or said that Flint was right. "If you want to see the most I can do about this, believe me, I would be more than happy to do so." With that, small flames started to surround his arms and his legs as he started to glare at Arthur. It was even more intimidating than last time probably because they were closer to him.

The people of Camelot looked at Flint and backed away a little in fright. The knights and soldiers however, drew their swords out to be ready to defend themselves. The Albions extended their hands out at them and whispered spells that made their arms and hands glow. Merlin was ready to block anything that either side was going to throw at each other.

"Alirght!" shouted Galahad. "Flint, that's enough. Cool yourself down, right now," he said in a tone that made it clear that it was a direct order.

Flint breathed a little heavy before the flames dimmed out. "Fine, but only because you asked." The Albions followed his lead and calmed down themselves. He looked back at Arthur. "You got off lucky...this time." Arthur glared harder at him but he and his men did put their weapons down.

"Right," said Galahad just shrugging off the fact that he just threatened the king. "We have other things to deal with anyway."

"What is it?" he said looking away from Arthur and his men.

Kay crossed his arms. "We need to have an emergency meeting. It seems that your former pals are in Briton with Vortigern and a new army under their control."

This made all the Albion soldiers and Flint stop glaring and get stone faced instead.

* * *

**End of Chapter 11**

A/N: Well, they made it though their welcome wasn't like their first time. I hope you all have new questions like Arthur now does with Excalibur's secret now known to him. And he's not the only one with secrets to tell.


	12. The Enemy of My Enemy

**Dangers in the Path to Destiny**

A/N: I hope all of you had a good Thanksgiving. I did and went to go see the new Red Dawn remake. It more than amped me up to write about resistance. This chapter is going to be all about drama though so the resistance will have to come later.

* * *

_If you do not tell the truth about yourself, you cannot tell it about other people._

~Virginia Woolf

* * *

Chapter 12: The Enemy of the Enemy

"So, they're back," Flint asked Galahad and Kay. "You're sure?"

"Judging from the fact that I nearly got my sword into Angus' hollow chest, I'm pretty sure." Galahad said gripping his sword handle still in his sheath.

"Well, you did sever his arm my friend. No doubt he'll be more of a coward then ever."

"Afraid not," said Kay. "It looks like Angus was able to have it regrown."

"What?" Flint asked a little shocked.

"Is that even possible?" asked Kay. "I've never heard of a magic that could regrow a limb."

"Well, with magic it might not be possible. Although, I guess after years of them consuming souls, it could've change their bodies so much that it does become possible for them. After all, when they were destroyed, they didn't even leave a body behind, remember?" he said with a inquisitive look in his eyes.

"Wow, when did you get so smart Flint? You really look like you know what you're saying." asked Galahad with a hint of a laugh in his tone.

"Funny." he said sounding bored. "But you're right, Connor needs to hear this right away. It's too bad though that he's not here."

Merlin did a double take. "Not here? What do you mean he's not here?"

"I mean he's not here," said Flint. "He left Albion just yesterday with Emrys and Swift for Eire. He'll be gone for at least two weeks."

"Where on Eire did he go?" asked Galahad.

"Kalen told me that he went to see Lionel. Said it was urgent."

Galahad and Kay shared a look. "The Keeper?" they asked together.

"One and the same." Flint said.

"Okay, then we'll have to convene without him." said Galahad.

Arthur stepped up to them. "Wait, I may not understand a lot of what you all just said and I won't pretend to but if Connor isn't here...then who is in charge?"

"Malcolm." said Kay.

Merlin remembered the musician well. When they were all here last year, Malcolm was very outspoken against Arthur and Camelot. During his visits to Albion, he hadn't crossed his path very much and when they did, they would always just nod to each other and be tense but polite.

Arthur remembered Malcolm as well. The looks of disgust and distrust from him when Malcolm was brought before him in Camelot and when he was brought before Malcolm in Albion. If he was truly in charge without Connor, they might not have a chance in getting help from the Albions to fight off Vortigern.

"Malcolm?" said Arthur a little shocked. Also, he had thought that someone of magic would've been put in charge in Connor's stead. Like Kay or even a warrior with a magical weapon like Galahad. But Malcolm, a musician?

"He is next in line of Albion's council." said Galahad. "He's more capable then you might think." he said at his shocked face.

"Let's go talk to him," said Merlin.

"No." Galahad cut in. "We have to inform him of everything that's happened first. You stay and wait here in the village."

"What? Wait?" said Arthur. "If you have to inform him then let me go with you and tell him everything in more detail."

"Sorry, that's not how we do things here. Besides, you wouldn't want to come anyway," Flint said with a little smirk. "At least in our way." He grabbed both Galahad and Kay and the three then vanished in a ball of flame.

Arthur ran a hand across his face, annoyed at the actions of the Albions. He would just have to bear it for as long as he was here...as would his men.

"Well, I guess it has been a hard three days of travel," he said before looking back at his people. "Let's look at getting some real food right now."

Merlin looked off in the direction that the city of Albion was in. Something told him that even though they were safe, things weren't going to get much easier for them.

* * *

"Why would the Keeper call Connor now?" asked Kay with a scratch to the head.

A slightly scrawny man with slightly messy light blond hair sat in a chair and shrugged his shoulder's at Kay's question. "I don't know. Lionel's message simply said that a few days ago, Madoc started acting a little bizarre and he became worried."

Kay and Galahad had been brought by Flint to the Lord's Manor in Albion and were currently in the study with Malcolm and Kalen. They had finished giving them the news of both the return of Vortigern and the Thorns as well as the Fall of Camelot and Arthur's arrival in their territory.

"A few days ago," said Galahad rubbing his chin. "Do you think Madoc might be reacting to what happened in Camelot."

"If he is reacting strangely, it could be that he's celebrating," said Flint with a smug smile. "Camelot's fall is cause enough for anyone of and for magic to rejoice. Whether they be human or dragon."

"Hear hear," Malcolm said raising his hand as if he were holding a glass. "If you ask me, they got exactly what they earned."

"I wouldn't say that," started Galahad. He just looked at Malcolm with a very tired expression like he hadn't slept in days.

"Oh come on Galahad," said Malcolm. "You hoped Camelot would pay for what they've done as much as anyone."

"I'm not denying that," he said with a calm shrug. "In fact, the truth is that I'm a little happy that they've finally been given such strong hardship. To know the pain of having their world crumble with little chance of it returning in sight...but, I still feel sorry for them."

Kay let out a huff from his nose. "To be honest...me too. I've suffered as much and as long as anyone of magic because of Camelot and I've dreamed of it falling many a night but it didn't make me feel as good as I dreamed it would." He looked back at Malcolm. "I actually feel a little bad for them."

Malcolm was silent for a moment before he just shrugged. "I feel bad too. For the people of Camelot. The citizens and innocent people. They do deserve our pity and our concern. Yet, Arthur and his knights are another story. They deserve to be left to suffer their defeat and misfortune for the rest of their lives." He clenched his fist at the thought of Arthur Pendragon again in their sanctuary for magic. "They made the choices and now they have to deal with the consequences."

"Exactly," said Kalen. He definitely wasn't going to give any sympathy for the King of Camelot or his knights. They destroyed his world without mercy and used it to build up the world they just lost. The innocent people however...they did deserve some solace. They were just bystanders and didn't do anything to deserve any of this but the others were another story. "They had it coming."

Galahad leaned his head back on the top of the couch and looked up at the ceiling. "I may know that in my head and understand it as well. Yet, I still can't help but feel a little sorry for them."

"Are you sure you're really feeling sorry for Arthur and his men?" asked Kalen. "Or is it that you just really feel sorry that your old friends Leon, Guinevere and Elyan had to share in the price with them?" He then looked at Kay. "What about you Kay? Sure you just don't feel the same with Sir Rohan's son Gwaine?"

The other three were silent as they let the two of them think on it for quite a few moments before Malcolm cleared his throat.

"This can be talked on more later. Camelot's king and his knights aren't the primary priority we should be focusing on. It's Vortigern and the Thorns." They pushed any feelings they had towards Camelot's fall to the side. Business before pleasure or displeasure. "What are their plans here?"

"Well," started Flint. "We know that Palin Tregor had eventually planned to attack Briton and conquer the five kingdoms and add their lands to his own and build a personal empire. Seems that Vortigern is trying to pick up where his father left off."

"I will say this for Vortigern," said Kalen standing up and leaning towards a window, looking out of it. "He is a lot more bolder than his father ever was. Palin had more force behind him than Vortigern currently does and he didn't risk invading these larger lands did he?"

"It might be true that Vortigern's force isn't as large as the Tregors were before, but the resistance here is much weaker than it was when he was a child." pointed out Kay. "Merlin was all that stood in his magical allies way from destroying the focal kingdom of Briton."

"And the other kingdoms don't even have that going for them," said Kalen. "Add in the strong brutality of the Vikings and the numbers of their allies from the rulers that joined Vortigern's side. They won't fair much better."

"And after Vortigern conquers all of Briton," said Galahad. "It's a safe guess that he will again try to reclaim his family's old territory. As well as the ones that we stopped them from acquiring. He'll turn his attention to us."

"The good news is that we have the home advantage," said Malcolm. "One of the few good things that came from our exposure here is that we could now harness defenses that ruin stealth. The new perimeter we've built will certainly limit the usefulness of the creatures the Thorns have in their control."

Flint nodded. "Not to mention that their troops could only enter through one direction. They could only come to Albion from the North. And, they could only sail from the south and enter from our port and it's too narrow for an invasion. We can provide a strong defensive line easily."

"Not to mention," said Kay. "Angus, Nemain and Mab are the only real powerful sorcerers that Vortigern truly has. As powerful and evil as they are, they are only just three of them. They can be overwhelmed as we've seen before. Most of the other war ready ones are experienced in battle but nowhere near the power of the Thorns. When it comes to weighing magic, the advantage is ours."

"Right," said Galahad. "But let's not forget to weigh the advantages that Vortigern has. The first and most obvious one, his numbers. While the Order and our soldiers are more than capable, he still outnumbers us 5 to 1. If he's smart, he will try to overwhelm us with his numbers."

"Yes," said Kalen deflating a bit. "But...he might not do so until he finishes acquiring the rest of Briton. He would want complete focus when dealing with us and want nothing to come and distract him from his other enemies. Whether he would admit it or not, he does fear us. After all, we took down both his father and uncle when everyone insisted they were invincible."

"What about the Celtic tribes?" said Kay. "We should send a message to them and ask for help. They would definitely come and make sure that the Tregors are stopped from ever terrorizing again. Not to mention my cousin Kent and the other lords and allies. Their armies and numbers could balance it out with us."

"The tribes?" asked Flint. "And our Welsh friends? Would there be time? It would take over a week just to reach all of them and give them the message. Then there would be the months to after to organize everything and have them move to the south before even coming here."

"Yeah, would there be time?" Kalen asked. "We've already guessed that Vortigern won't focus on us until he could devote _all_ his focus on us. So first he would conquer the remaining kingdoms and that could take time."

"We should at least start with letting them know of the situation here first before we worry about the time of our approaching allies." said Malcolm. "Then the scenario of time will be more certain by the time Connor comes back."

"Speaking of Connor, about his trip," said Kay. "Shouldn't it be time we told Merlin about the new dragons? He is a dragonlord after all."

"No," said Kalen. "Kilgharrah told me that he won't be ready for it yet. Besides, he can't be trusted yet anyway. We can't risk it getting back to Arthur and his knights. While it might be too late for them to easily slay Kilgharrah now and maybe even Madoc, there is still risk to the others. They might find the opportunity to tempting to pass up." Kalen looked back out the window. "They're still too vulnerable and I won't risk them."

"What are we going to do about them?" asked Flint. He looked to Malcolm. "Until Connor gives his final word, you have the temporary final say. I vote for,"

"No harm will come to them from us," cut in Galahad. "Despite whatever personal feelings we have, we still have a duty. Don't look at me that way," he said when Flint brought his arms to his hips. "Do not think that I like this any better than you. My feelings about my childhood friends aside, I don't like the kingdom of Camelot at all. And I know that Uther asked this to come to his kingdom but I know Arthur didn't."

Malcolm leaned back in the chair. What should they do? Personally, he could care less about Arthur and his men. However, they were victims of the Thorns and of Vortigern Tregor. So they had a duty to step in. Galahad was right about that. He put his thumb and forefinger against his closed eyes to try and ease the pressure building up. He wondered why Vortigern couldn't have been more thorough so he didn't have to deal with this all now.

* * *

Back at the village, Arthur and his men and Gwen went down the road for the tavern to get a meal. Merlin was right behind them as he was reassured that Galahad and Kay would be back soon, right after their meeting. All those who were still injured were getting treated by Gaius,who was taken by Eli to the village's healer who had tutored him before. He had a lot of herbs and potions to use for all of them but the healer was a sorcerer and he enchanted them to make them more potent and effective. The properties were magical but Gaius made it clear to those resisting the idea of being treated by anything remotely magical that they had very little choice.

They had been given funny looks by the villagers. They looked scared and extremely tense. Merlin privately thought they did have a valid reason to be. The last time troops from Camelot marched through here, they attacked them and a few had died. Although, this time, this city had a strong presence from the Order of the Bear and Albion soldiers. Throughout eating in the tavern, no one said a word at all. No one from Camelot or Albion. They just sat and stared at one another.

"Well," said Gwaine under his breath. "This place really values peace and quiet."

"I've seen thieves' markets that were more calmer than this," said Tristan. "It's like the wrong movement could set everyone off right now."

"Well, let's just not do anything to set anyone off," Leon then took another sip of soup. "We're all hungry and tired and we don't need to be in a fight where we don't have to."

A few of the other knights huffed but they still kept their mouths shut and heeded Leon's advice. Arthur was by a window in a table for two with Gwen. They were both gazing out it and were looking at the people outside, moving about.

"Do you really think that everyone will be safe here from the Vikings Arthur?"

Arthur went and took a sip of water to dampen his lips. "Right now Gwen, it looks like it might be the safest place from Vortigern. However," he said looking around at all the people staring at them and his men. "I'm not sure it the safest place for us."

"What do you mean?"

"Last time we were here, we still had the weight of Camelot for them to keep from hurting us. Now...who knows what they'll do. Flint was close to burning us to cinders back there. And" he said pointing to the other people in the tavern with his eyes. "Who knows what the other people here could do."

"Honestly...I don't know if I should be afraid of these people or feel sorry for them."

"Sorry for them?" he asked confused. "I can understand the fear part but why would you feel sorry for them."

"I...it must not be easy. Having people that they don't like or trust and be let into their homes."

Arthur raised his eyebrows. "Why shouldn't they trust us?"

"Well...the last time we were here, a few of their people here died. Because of us. They must like us even less than ever after the suffering we gave them."

Suffering that Camelot gave them? That sounded familiar. "You've been speaking to Merlin or his dragon?"

She seemed surprised by that abrupt question. "What? No. It's something that Eli told me before we arrived here. He told me that we should expect a lot of people being rude to us for the next few days especially from his home village. He wanted to apologize to me ahead of time."

"That was nice of him." Gaius' new ward was so much more politer than his last one.

"But...he did ask that we understand why they would be rude too."

Understand the rudeness? Arthur guessed he could understand it, but he wouldn't like it.

Merlin was at the front bar giving everyone their space. He could understand that they would all be even more uncomfortable than ever. Yet, he would be near to keep them all safe. He knew that news of Camelot's fall would spread and some of the more...aggressive Albions would mark them as fair game to take their vengeance and he would make sure they wouldn't take it. He just prayed that they wouldn't all come at once.

Gaius and Eli were tending to some of the wounded and Eli's father was beside Gaius helping as well.

"Gaius, right?" he asked.

"That's right," he said spreading some salve on a bandage to ready it. "And you must be Trey. Your son speaks much of you."

"And he writes highly of you." he said back with a small smile. He gazed at his son across tending to someone. "I'm glad you've tried to help him widen his horizons. I don't think he would've been found so easily in a closed off place as ours."

"I'm glad I could bring out what Eli is capable of. And, he is a very thoughtful boy. You've done a good job raising him."

"Actually...I didn't." Gaius looked a little surprised at that so Trey continued. "I had been to war for most of his childhood. In fact, I even missed his birth. His mother was the one to raise him."

"War? You mean the one on Eire?"

"Yes."

"So, you were part of Albion's army?"

"No...actually, I was in Palin Tregor's or at least in a lord's army that was loyal to him."

Gaius was now very curious. How was someone who was fighting against the Albions now living in a village under them? "But how are you here?"

"It's a long complicated story. The short version is that I was seen as one of the expendable assets and the Order showed mercy to me and spared my life. Then my wife was on the verge of dying from an ailment and we had no money so I took her to get help from the magic of one of the Thorns. I used to be one of his personal soldiers and they claimed that she was too far gone to be recovered so they consumed her soul to both "end her pain" and "still make use of her for the good of the kingdom." After that, I took Eli and headed for Albion for a change a little bit before the war ended."

"I'm sorry," he said very quietly.

"Thank you." He looked at his son again. "After that, I didn't want him to be hurt more by the Tregors. His father was disgraced and he lost his mother, all thanks to them. Albion was said to be the place where second chances could be had, and away from tyranny. I chose the village over the city as it was something we were used to. Yet, when I was told of Eli's dormant potential, I guessed it meant he might be meant for greater things than I ever could have done. I thought that by going to Camelot he would actually be even farther away from the Tregors reach...but it looks like it was another bad judgement call by me."

"No," Gaius said grasping his hand as it looked like he might slam it down and alarm some of the patients. "It wasn't a bad decision at all for Eli. You mustn't blame yourself for everything wrong that befalls your son. It isn't and wasn't your fault now or even then. Believe me, when it comes to sons, you sometimes have to let them brave their paths alone so that they could move towards what they are meant to be."

* * *

Angus came back into Vortigern's sight, as good as new. He wasn't alone. Mordred was with him as they stepped into his tent.

Vortigern cracked a grin at seeing him again. "Angus, good. And you brought Mordred too. Good, good. I see you're back to normal."

"Yes, I healed myself and even further energized myself. Mordred pointed out a pair of lazy slaves that were trying to slack off. Both to help me and set an example for the others who were new."

"Multi-tasking. Not a bad approach Angus. I'm glad you're here and that you have already refilled your power. I've decided that you will go with King Alined and his army and attack King Olaf. He is leaving tomorrow to march for his kingdom. Nemain, is leaving now with King Bayard to attack Lord Godwyn lands. In three days, Mab will be leaving with Lord Odin to attack Queen Annis' kingdom."

Angus bowed. "I can't wait."

"And what about me?" asked Mordred.

"You'll stay with me here and keep our slaves in line as they continue with building Wirtgernesburg. And with Nemain leaving I will need you to take over with digging through to Camelot's vaults."

"Why are they so important anyway?" he asked. "What is supposed to be down there?"

"Besides magical relics Mordred, Uther also stole a great deal of magical weapons as well. Those weapons are still down there somewhere and we will need them."

"We will?"

"Yes," said Angus. "Merlin, your Emrys, he could be dealt with by us Thorns but with that dragon he becomes a problem."

"But didn't you and the others say you could handle it?"

"They did," said Vortigern. "but that was before they headed for Albion. I won't leave things to chance. Albion was a mighty force and now that they have Merlin and a full grown dragon to their arsenal they will be mightier than ever. We need an edge besides numbers. Magical weapons would sure help against them. Understand?"

"Yes...now I do sire."

"Good." He turned to Angus. "Leave all the other sorcerers here to assist Mordred. You, Mab and Nemain will have your creatures with you and that should be plentiful enough and with that plus yourselves, I'm sure that is plentiful enough."

"It should be. The only real trouble we had in taking Camelot was Merlin and that won't be a factor now."

"One last thing, show mercy and spare as many soldiers as possible. I find that living enemy soldiers make better slaves and fuel than dead ones."

Angus smirked. "I've found that out too. After we succeed, do you wish for the captured soldiers be brought here to work here as well?"

"Yes," he said looking around at the tent. "Olaf is yours to do as you see fit. Kill him, let him live, or keep him for fuel, I don't care. Same goes for his daughter, the Lady Vivian. But the soldiers, they are essential. The quicker my new castle here is built, the better. I'm tired of staying in a tent. I need a formal throne room."

"Yes, and I could use a fine bed chamber myself." said Angus. "What about you Mordred?"

He shrugged. "Sadly, I'm used to even worse conditions than this."

"Well," said Vortigern. "That will soon change forever if I have my say. Angus, one more thing, when victory is clear, fulfill my promise to Alined." At his confused look, he rolled his eyes. "You don't remember Angus? I told Alined that he wouldn't have to worry about his profits ever again. Make sure he doesn't."

A glint passed over Angus' eyes. "Right. I'll take care of it."

"Nemain and Mab will handle their own parts as well. When all of this is done, we will have control of much of Britain."

"What about King Lot?" asked Mordred. "He is not an ally."

Vortigern went to sit on his throne. "No...but he isn't necessarily an enemy either. His reign is still young as he took over from Cenred. He would be easy enough to control and manipulate. He'll probably come with tributes soon enough and...I could use someone like that to handle the grunt work of the tedious business of rule. As of right now, he is no consequence."

* * *

A giant ball of flame appeared just outside the village and out of it stepped Malcolm, Galahad, Kay, Kalen and Flint.

"I never get tired of that," said Malcolm as he stepped out of Flint's flames.

Flint grinned at him. "Glad you like it so much."

"Now, where are Arthur and his knights?" he asked.

"Well," said Kay. "last time we saw them, they were at the entrance to the village and we told them that they should get some food and rest. They're probably getting started on the resting part now."

"They probably set up camp right outside of the village. Let's go look for them," Galahad suggested.

They walked through to the village and one Albion soldier on patrol pointed out to the direction he saw Arthur go after leaving the tavern. They moved out to see a large camp being set up. They went for the tent that was the grandest one to see two men standing guard.

"We're here to speak with Arthur," said Malcolm.

One of them went inside for a moment before coming back out and telling them that they could come in. Arthur was in there with his Queen as well as all the knights Malcolm recognized as the ones from last year during their stay. There were a few other knights included that he'd never seen before. They looked a little worse for wear but still seemed to carry themselves with strong dignity despite what they had lost. Merlin was also there though he was off to the side. He just stood back and watched them. Galahad and Kay had changed into mail with their Order robes and Flint and Kalen were dressed the same.

Galahad gestured him to Arthur. "Master Malcolm," he said to them. "I'm sure you also remember Sir Kalen as well," he said pointing to Kalen who nodded to them but his face was blank.

Arthur nodded as he stepped forward. "Malcolm...it's good to see you again." Malcolm looked very regal compared to himself. Malcolm was in simple blue robes and had his lute strapped to his back. He had a leather belt with a golden bear fastening and what looked like a musical key pendant on a thin chain around his neck. While Arthur was clearly in more expensive embroidery, he was cleaner and more well kept.

Malcolm eyes almost rolled back. "Don't try and flatter me Arthur. I'm not one of your nobles so you don't have to lie to me. Let's just talk as normal people."

Arthur felt a temper rise but pushed it down. It wasn't time for one. "I'm sure that Galahad and Kay told you about what happened."

"Yes he did. It made my week." he said looking bored. A few of the knights glared down at him but Malcolm wasn't fazed at all. Because of what he's seen and been through, glares are the least that knights of Camelot have done to him.

Arthur again pushed down an angry flinch. "Did he also mention who was responsible?"

That made Malcolm frown. "Yes...that unfortunately, ruined my week."

"Vortigern and the Thorns," said Kalen with him squeezing a fist at his side. "They are less than human."

"So, what will you do?" Arthur asked folding his arms.

"Our duty," Kalen said. "We'll stop them."

"Yes," said Flint. "We have unfinished business with them."

"Good," Arthur said. Despite the attitude, this was far easier than he thought. They were going to help after all. "We have some men still out there and I could rally Camelot's allies to-"

"Whoa," Malcolm said cutting him off. "Whoever said we were going to fight with you?"

Arthur took a step back. "What?"

Flint folded his own arms. "We'll handle Vortigern and his friends but we don't need you for that. You all would only hold us back."

Now Arthur lost it. "Hold you back? Vortigern has not only the Vikings behind him but Alined's, Odin's and Bayard's armies as well. Who knows who many other people will join him now. You may have magic but you're outnumbered. You can't take him alone, it's impossible."

Kalen smirked. "Impossible for you maybe but not for us. We're used to being impossibly outnumbered and still coming out the victors. After all, how did you think all of us got to be so powerful in the first place?"

"This is crazy," said Leon. "You need our help as much as we need you."

"He's right," said Elyan. "We don't have a choice. We have to work together."

"No," said Flint. "You need us but we don't need you. We don't have to do anything with you. Or for you. Let's make that clear right here, right now. What has happened to your kingdom, the fault of it, believe it or not wasn't magic but your kingdom's itself."

"Yet," said Malcolm cutting in. "Despite that little fact I've decided we will be generous, at least until Connor has the final say. I'm not without a soul, far from it, so we will allow you and your people to stay here in the safety of Albion territory. But, you will not interfere with our people's lives and you won't have a say with our methods. We've issued that you aren't to be touched but don't do anything to push the limit of that. You have no power here at all and you as well as your knights would do well to remember that." He then looked to Merlin. "It looks like your services as an ambassador are no longer needed."

"You can't be serious," Arthur asked.

"Oh, I'm very serious. The Thorns are our concern as is Vortigern and they are our responsibility. Them stranding your people like this warrants you our hospitality but it doesn't give you a hand in anything else. Your kingdom and throne is your responsibility and no concern to us. In fact, if we weren't as honorable as we were, we would've stripped you and your father of it ourselves long ago. Keep that in mind if you doubt how serious we are." He turned back to his friends. "Let's head back to Albion. We have preparations to make and messages to send."

Malcolm went to leave the tent with Flint and Kalen hot on his heels. Galahad and Kay also went to follow him when Leon stepped forward.

"Galahad." he said stopping both of them in their tracks. "Can't you and Kay talk with him?"

"We did." he said simply.

Leon was confused by that. "You did? When? In the second after I asked?"

"No, we talked back at the manor. That's why you're all being allowed to stay here for the time being."

"That's all?" he asked a little skeptically.

Now Galahad folded his arms. "Well I'm sorry if getting you, my friend(s) and your people a safe place to eat and sleep means so little to you. How selfish of me."

Leon flinched. "That's not what I mean."

"Really? Then what did you mean?"

"You know what I meant Galahad."

"No...I really don't." he said starting to glare at Leon now. "Please...tell me."

Kay even folded his arms now. "Tell me too. Because I supported Galahad's argument with the others. Together, we were able to wear them down. Now, I want to know if I or even he should've bothered." Leon was hesitant and every one else was now nervous with the tent's new tension. "Don't be bashful."

Leon was silent for bit to try to find the right wording. "We need to do everything we can to save the kingdom."

"But it's not our kingdom," said Kay. "Camelot isn't our kingdom and hasn't been for almost 27 years. In Galahad's case almost 24. We made it clear where our loyalties lie long ago."

"He's right," said Galahad. "We told you remember? Before we left. Despite what has happened to your kingdom from then to now, that hasn't changed at all. I said: You have our respect but not our loyalty." He started to again leave the tent before he stopped at the flap. "Though, if you are like this...maybe I should say had instead of have." Then the two left the tent fully.

Arthur ran his hand through his hair and nearly pulled on his hair. What were they going to do now? They needed the magic from the Albions to stop Vortigern but it had to be at their side, not on its own. They had Merlin and his dragon but as mighty as powerful as they were, it just wasn't going to be enough.

"Merlin, what about you? Can't you talk with Malcolm or even with Connor when he returns?"

Merlin just sighed. "What Arthur? What do you think I can do? I was made the ambassador for Albion in Camelot. Any power I had here related to that. Without it, I'm as powerless here as you are. I can't force them to fight with us...and I don't know if I have the right to even try at this point."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean...try looking at it through their eyes. Why should they? We haven't exactly given them much reason trust us. We can't just show up and make a demand that they fight with us because it suits us."

Arthur's anger was rising higher than it had all day. What was Merlin trying to say? Was he saying that the Albions were right to turn them down? "Because it suits us? Merlin, if Vortigern isn't stopped then the whole island will suffer."

"I know that Arthur. I know that just as well as you and so do they. That's why they will be fighting them. But...what about after it is all done. What is to happen to them? And I know that you just can't show up and order their help like this and expect them to just fall in line."

He rolled his eyes. "Of course I know that Merlin." Arthur's tone was rising.

"Do you?" he said. Merlin's tone wasn't rising at all. In fact, he was quite calm. Almost tired though. "It looks and sounds like that's exactly what you expected would eventually happen when they learned of what was happening in the land. That their magic would be the solution to your problem. Even though you knew they weren't loyal to you or the kingdom."

Riddles. He was talking in riddles just like the dragon was. He was tired of it. "Merlin, just come out and say what the heck you mean?"

"Arthur...what kind of land do you wish to rule?" he asked.

"Now what are you,"

"Just answer the question Arthur," Merlin cut in with a low but harsh tone. It made everyone in the tent flinch.

Arthur thought it was a waste of time but he would indulge him. "It's a kingdom that's fair and just. One where everyone is respected regardless of rank."

"And you really mean that?" he asked pushing on.

"Of course," Arthur almost shouted.

"Then you have to prove it to the Albions. But before that, you have to prove it to yourself. Otherwise, you won't have a kingdom at all." He then looked to everyone else. "Even all of you. If you share Arthur's desire for that type of kingdom, you have to share in his lesson or leave."

Then Merlin left the tent and everyone there looked to Arthur a little confused or saddened. Arthur just looked from the spot where Merlin left a little lost for words. Only one word filled Arthur's thoughts. What?

* * *

**End of Chapter 12**

A/N: I hope you liked that one. FYI, I chose Madoc as it is a Welsh name that means little fortunate one. With the history I have in mind for Madoc and the Keeper it fit perfectly. Wonder when Merlin will be let in on the news. Also, Arthur's answer to Merlin's question is straight from The Death Song of Uther Pendragon. When Arthur said that, I felt that he did mean it but he didn't have people of magic in mind when he did.


	13. Pawns of Evil

**Dangers in the Path to Destiny**

A/N: I hope you are going to like this. The next three chapters will focus on history. The history of the Thorns will begin to be looked at as well as their connections to both Camelot and Albion. One hint: Not good.

* * *

_The defenders of evil deeds deserve the same punishment as the doers_.

~Edward Counsel, Maxims

* * *

Chapter 13: Pawns of Evil

It was the following day and Arthur got up to find Gwen already enjoying some tea. Gale was there and he was bringing in and setting up their breakfast.

"Thank you Gale," Gwen said from where she sat.

"My pleasure my lady." he said putting a bowl of warm and fresh bread in the center.

Gwen looked in his direction as he stirred. "Arthur...good morning."

"Is it?" he grunted.

"Come eat," she said pointing to the chair across from her.

He gave her a small smile as he walked over and joined her at the table. There were eggs and bread with some water and tea ready for him. As he settled, his mind wandered to the past two nights. There was a lot of arguing among his knights and a lot of yelling on his part as well. The day following Malcolm's refusal of an alliance had been the most stressful yet by all the in fighting that was breaking out amongst his men. After it was all said and done, his men were divided on the issue of staying to keep trying or just leave and try with their other allies without any of magic's help. Albion didn't present them with the answers that he wanted. Into the night, he lay awake wondering if coming here was the wise choice after all. It seems like every time he comes here, it only brings him trouble. Take last time for example. First, he lost the image of his friend, then the one of father, the one of his mother, and the one of his men. Now, he and his men have lost their only real last hope of getting Camelot back. And Merlin wasn't going to help...and it seemed neither would that arrogant dragon of his.

Gwen saw that he was more sullen than usual. She knew that, after yesterday, he must feel pretty helpless right now. But he just couldn't spend his days just staring out into nothing. "Arthur?"

"Hmm," he said finally snapping back to reality.

"The eggs are better when they're still warm."

"What?" he looked and saw that he had eggs at the end of his fork but it was raised only halfway to his mouth. "Oh," he said before taking a bite. "Thanks. Maybe, I might skip breakfast today. I don't have too much of an appetite."

Gwen just looked at him with a slightly sad look in her eyes. "Arthur, the people need you to take care of yourself so you could help them."

Arthur let his fork fall. "How Gwen?"

"The way you've always done. You've always made sure that they were safe and that Camelot will always be won because

"That's just it Gwen," he said pushing his food back. "None of us have a Camelot to win. It's gone." He got up and startled her. "I'm...I'm sorry. I-I need to clear my head."

He started to leave but Gwen wouldn't just let him walk out like that. "Arthur, that's not true at all. Camelot isn't gone."

"You saw it Gwen. Vortigern and his magic Thorns destroyed the castle and the city. There's nothing there...nothing to get back this time." Then he walked out.

* * *

Off in the fields some distance away, Kilgharrah was down on the ground and looking down at a certain warlock.

"I hate this Kilgharrah." said Merlin.

"Yes," he said truly sounding sorry for him. "I realize that you do but until Arthur comes to accept was has happened and why then he won't be able to have the full trust of Albion. He has to come to respect magic and its people, not use them as it suits him. That's how the Tregors and even his father were like and that's why they won't help him at all."

"Arthur isn't like that. I know it."

"Yes, at his core, I also believe he is. However, Arthur hasn't given much reason for the Albions to believe it themselves. He may have learned the core reason behind his father's actions and yet, he hasn't accepted the wrong in it. Though he knows the truth, he hasn't acknowledged that his kingdom is responsible for acts of evil. Until he does, neither Camelot or Albion can begin to truly move past it."

Merlin sat down on the grass and rubbed his eyes. He knew that. After all, he did tell Kilgharrah about how Arthur's decision of moving magic users to Albion instead of leaving them in peace. "Could I just tell him about that? Make him see that."

"How can you tell Arthur something that he just won't listen to? He still regards magic with slight distrust as does his men. While you and the Order do show them another side to magic, they have to be willing to truly see that there is that side. They can't be made to just because if they don't they won't get what they need from them. It has to be a true and genuine effort."

Merlin nodded. "Maybe this is what Galahad and Kay were trying to tell me. They didn't help Camelot because the magic they tap into doesn't make them some kind of mercenaries that a kingdom could call on when the situation calls for it. And, yet that is exactly how I acted after months of trying to get Arthur to respect us as people. I was just so excited about the idea that I was making true progress that I didn't see that I could only have added to the problem. I jumped at the chance to use my magic for Camelot in front of everyone for something and so Arthur and the others assumed Albion would do so as well." Merlin began banging a fist to his head.

"Merlin, it is natural. When the appeal to quickly stop a struggle is in front of us, we can let ourselves jump into it without a second thought. The enemy had magic on their side so you wanted to show Camelot what could be accomplished when they had it on theirs despite the fragile state this truce is still in. Your father and I made that same mistake when Uther promised peace all those years ago if we did what he asked. We knew the kind of man he was but we were blinded by the idea of finally having peace so quickly."

"I should've known better." he said staring out into the distance.

"It happens to the best of us Merlin."

* * *

Over in King Olaf's land, a wooden tower stood tall. At least it did before it crumbled in the space where it stood with the three soldiers still inside it.

"_**Crymbl a Disgyn**_!" Eyes glowed a pale green as the deadly spell was released. Another tower within one of Olaf's prime border forts fell like it was of twigs. More of the soldiers fell from that tower and the rubble buried a few unfortunate to be near it at the time.

The sky had dozens of hippogriffs hovering over the fort with them just flapping their wings and hovering over the scene. Hovering just under them was Angus as he leered at the running soldiers of Olaf's. He made their watch towers crumble with a gesture before the men in them knew what hit them. Crossbow bolts flew off towards them but they just bounced off the hippogriffs' flesh before they dropped and pecked and scratched into the bowmens' bodies. Alined's men were chasing after them with their swords held high and their morale for battle higher than ever. As for Alined himself, he was standing to the side, taking a chalice of wine from a servant and watching everything like it was an entertaining show.

"_**Ffrwd Mellt**_" Angus zoomed off and rained a stream of lightning bolts straight down to cut off the majority's escape like a fence. His hippogriffs landed behind it and screeched at them. The ones who refused to go down quietly attempted to charge past them but their swords and their bodies broke under their intensity.

"I would suggest you surrender," Angus said hovering over them. "So would they," he said pointing to Alined's men. "Though, they won't mind," he said pointing to his hippogriffs. "It is close to feeding time."

The soldiers looked from the flying sorcerer to the big hippogriffs, that had drying blood still on them from their comrades, to the soldiers behind them with their bloodstained swords. One by one, swords and other weapons dropped to the ground one after the other before they raised their hands in surrender.

"Smart," he said before looking at all the swords on the ground. "_**Dur Cadwyni Ffurflen a Cyffion fy Ngelyn**_." The swords hovered off the ground and glowed as did the armor plates, mail and cuffs they were all wearing and suddenly, the men found themselves in shackles and were chained to one another. "Take them away," he shouted to the men. "_**Ewch a fi i Alined**_" He then disappeared without warning.

And appeared right by Alined and made him spill his drink. "God. You startled me Angus! Next time, walk over to me."

"I apologize. Just wanted to make an impression."

Alined raised his eyes in disbelief. "Being the advance party and helping my men take the fort in barely a half hour wasn't enough of an impression?"

Angus just shrugged. "I was just trying to make this triumph as memorable as possible."

"Believe me Angus," Alined said having his chalice refilled. He chuckled as he was raising it to his lips. "I am enjoying and will remember all of this."

"I don't doubt you'll ever forget it Alined." Angus said with a smile. He certainly won't forget. He won't have the time to.

* * *

Arthur walked off from both camp and village, stomping off to let loose his inner turmoil. He didn't want to leave Gwen like that but he didn't want her to have false hope and have him not be able to succeed. That was the sad truth. They had nothing now. Vortigern didn't take the kingdom, he destroyed it. And now, the only force that could help him wasn't going to and Merlin was being no help at all in convincing them otherwise. Why they wouldn't when they all wanted to stop Vortigern, he couldn't understand. Add in that his men were getting divided in what to do next and that he was brandishing a powerful magical sword...this was becoming too much.

He looked and saw that he could see absolutely nobody around and just let out a deep yell. He could feel himself losing it. He was fighting hard not to cry. That is something he just couldn't and wouldn't do. If he did...he might not stop. He eventually found himself heading off into the Forest of Gedref and just kept walking down one of the trails. He didn't even give the creatures any mind and personally, he wouldn't mind a fight though he didn't have to worry about that. The villagers warned them that now the forest had trails and they had to stay on them if they didn't have an escort or enchanted crest to ward them off.

Arthur then heard some frantic voices which pulled him from his daze. He guessed that they belonged to two boys and they were being quite loud. One seemed quite angry while the other one was frantic. He followed the noise and came upon a small creek in the woods.

"You did it! I know you did!" a voice said full of spiteful anger.

"I swear I didn't!" said a second voice sounding frantic.

"Right! Come here!" the first shouted back.

Arthur then saw movement in the brush ahead and a boy, maybe around 12 or so, run onto the scene and he kept running and looking back at the same time. Close behind was another boy around the same age, maybe slightly older, and he was fuming.

The angry boy soon tripped on his feet and fell down. The other boy looked back but didn't stop running. His luck seemed to be changing until the first one raised his hand out.

"_**Codi Gwraidd**_" The boy's eyes glowed and suddenly a tree root burst out slightly and the running boy tripped over it and fell on his face. The first boy quickly got back on his feet and ran to the boy. "Now, I got you-" he slurred.

He stretched his last word because a sword was suddenly in line with his neck. Arthur was behind the sorcerer as the second boy got up. "Stop right there," he said leveling his arm with his sword. He looked to the other boy. He looked completely frightened. "It's okay," he said trying to calm him. I got him."

But the second boy just raised his hand at him."_**Gwthio**_." he shouted frantically. The boy's eyes glowed slightly and Arthur found on the ground like someone pulled him back by his shirt.

The boys then ran off, getting themselves away from him. "Cade! Cade help us! We need help!"

They shouted these things as Arthur went after them to know just what was going on. Apparently both were young sorcerers and now they were trying to distance themselves from Arthur together. They ran deeper into the trees and as they did, Arthur put his sword away.

"Wait," he called out. "Come back here."

Just then, he found himself frozen in place. He couldn't move. His feet weren't lifting off the ground. It was as if they had been grown into the floor. There was rustling ahead of him and out stepped the boys but they were followed by a member of the Order of the Bear. It was a young member, he remembered him a little from his last visit.

He slowly approached him with Connor's bear right behind him, quietly growling. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing? Pointing your sword at my younger brother with my even younger one watch it."

Arthur looked at the two boys. They were brothers? "I thought he was going to hurt him." he said pointing at the right boys. "He attacked him."

"What?" Cade asked looking back at them. "Is that true Todd?" he said looking straight at the taller one.

"Well Dane went and told Leslie that I liked her," he said pointing at his brother.

"You do like her," he shot back. "And I didn't tell her!"

"Yes you did," the one named Todd shot back.

"Did not," argued Dane.

"Did so!"

"Did not!"

"Liar!"

"Am not!"

As they carried on their spat, Arthur felt like hitting himself. Great, he had jumped and pulled his sword on a young boy just having a spat with his brother. He just saw someone attacking somebody with magic in the woods and years of instinct kicked in along with all the feelings over the past few days made him act without thinking.

"All right!" the man shouted. "Enough!" He looked over at Todd and saw that he seemed fine. "Go back home. Oh, and believe me that mother and father will hear about this!"

"What?!" they both cried. "Cade"

"Don't argue with me. Head back to Albion."

"Okay...Sir Cade." they added when he narrowed his eyes at them. They walked off but they could hear the bickering continue after they left into the brush.

Cade looked at Arthur with the same hard look again. "You know...I may not be the smartest person around, I'll admit that. But I'm pretty sure that Master Malcolm, Sir Galahad and even Sirs Kay, Flint and Kalen all warned you Camelot mutten heads to not cause problems and you go and pull a sword on a 14 year old boy, my own brother at that! And doing it in front of our 12 year old brother as well. Lucky for them, I'm on patrol around here at this time."

"I'm sorry," he shot back. "I thought I saw him about to seriously hurt his brother. And I didn't know they were brothers."

"What? You never seen siblings fight in your kingdom before?" he said like Arthur was stupid.

"I have but they never use magic on each other before. He was chasing him and then attacked him. He had him on the ground and I thought he wanted to hurt him."

Cade folded his arms. "Don't worry about that. Todd will hear of this from both our parents and from me. Yet...may I ask, what exactly was the magic you saw that Todd had used on Dane?"

"He...made him trip on a root." he said a little quietly. Now that he thought on it, maybe he acted too soon. Compared to other sorcerers who he'd seen attack innocent people, he was a bit too extreme with Cade's brother.

Cade apparently agreed. "Of course," he said nodding his head. "Tripping a person. That's always worth a sword to the neck. If he had pushed him down himself, a beheading would've been too good for him," he said with sarcasm very evident in his tone. But then his look became serious. "I wonder if you saw the same thing happening between two other boys and one had thrown a stick to trip the other instead of a spell, if you would've pulled your sword out?"

"Okay," Arthur said a bit sharply. "I get it. I reacted too soon."

Cade just shook his head and snapped his fingers. Arthur's feet were suddenly free to move again. "I have half a mind of sinking you slowly in that creek." he said baring his teeth. "You're lucky I'm so nice." Cubby leered over at Arthur and tilted his head. "Easy Cubby."

"He understands you?" he said raised his feet to get feeling in them again.

"Not my words...but he understands how I feel. He's a close friend to a Beast Tamer so he's smarter than usual." He saw Arthur's face go blank. He rolled his eyes. "Forget it. Like talking to a wall. No, walls have more manners."

Arthur saw him turn away but he wouldn't have it. "Are you saying I don't have manners?"

"Yes...I am. I've met people half your age with twice your manners."

"Oh really? And what do you mean by that?"Cade didn't answer and just kept on walking off. "You people seem to love always saying what's wrong with me. Go ahead, let it out."

Cade just looked back at him. "You really don't get it, do you?"

"Would you stop with the double meanings and just say what you all mean already?"

"Spoiled and arrogant." he said shaking his head. "No wonder you fell for the Thorns' trap."

That made his temper drop. "What? What are you talking about?"

Cade just closed his eyes. "Maybe I shouldn't tell you. You probably wouldn't have cared anyway if you didn't lose your city."

"Then humor me."

Cade stopped walking off and leaned against a tree. "Fine...but remember, you asked for it." Arthur didn't say anything so he continued. "The Thorns used your kingdom to destroy their great enemy in these lands."

"Enemy? What enemy?"

Cade was silent for a few seconds before he gestured out. "Us. The followers of the Old Religion."

"All of you? Wait...why any of you. How could you all have been enemies anyway? Aren't you all sorcerers?"

Cade just snorted. "Like that matters to them. They care only about themselves. If everyone possessing magic in the world died except them, they wouldn't bat an eye. In fact, they would rejoice as there would be no one to contest them. Besides, us of the Old Religion had been enemies with the Thorns and their evil art for centuries."

Arthur recalled the attitudes of Kay, Galahad, Kalen, Flint, even Malcolm. All of them looked like they were disgusted at the mere thought of the Thorns. Based on what they've done and how they harness their power, he and his men could easily share that. Yet something in Cade's explanation came back and confused him. "What do you mean they used my kingdom to destroy you? I know why my father started the Purge but he had nothing to do with them."

"It's because the Thorns manipulated his decision." he said quickly as if to get the worst over with. "Yes, he wanted to get the priestess that helped him but it was them who inspired him to extend his wrath to everyone of magic. Whether they were friends or enemies, warriors or peasants, they convinced him to go after everyone."

"What?" Just then, he remembered back in Camelot, when he stared down Mab. She had said that their work was done. Is this what she meant? They were using Camelot to start a war on magic and have _all_ their enemies try to destroy one another while they sat back and watched? How could there be sorcerers that were happy for the Great Purge? "How do you all know this?"

"Simple...they told us." he said with a dark look coming over him. "Couldn't resist gloating about our pain and bragging about their power over everyone."

Arthur didn't want to hear any more of this but...he couldn't help it. Now that it started, he had to know more. "But what exactly did they do? How? Why?"

"That, I don't know. I only know the basics. I was only around 8 years old when all this came out. If you want to hear the complete story, you'll have to talk with one of the Originals."

"Originals?"

"Of the Order of the Bear. From the first 10 founding members that battled against the Thorns in the war. They were the only ones to really fight them and live past a first battle. However, there are only four of them alive today. Lord Connor, Sir Galahad, Sir Kay and Sir Kalen. Though...Malcolm and Flint would also know everything too. Actually, Flint would have more to say on it than anyone."

"Oh." That wasn't good. He wasn't in good terms with any of them. Perhaps Connor would tell him...if he was here.

"Anyway," said Cade. "You wouldn't care much for what they have to say...if the Thorns didn't destroy your city. Don't expect them to just share it with you. They barely shared anything with us and they only did so because they felt we deserved the truth. You...don't."

Arthur just breathed in and pushed some of his resurfacing anger down. He didn't like it but he would have to put up with this treatment. He had the protection of his people to consider and the Albions could easily take it away.

"Thank you for the advice." he said with thanks not in his tone.

"One more thing," he said before Arthur could start to leave. Cade them drew his arm back and punched him across the face and bloodied his nose. Arthur fell from the force of it and looked up at him in surprise as he looked up at him. "That was for my brother. Consider yourself lucky that a bloody nose is all you get. My parents would've made sure you never moved your arms and legs again," he spat before heading out.

Arthur got up slowly. _'Take it_,' he thought as he stomped off for the village to Gaius to treat his nose. He nearly saw as red as the blood slowly leaking from his nose.

* * *

A row of men lined up and had their crossbows armed. A man stepped up in front of them with his sword raised.

"Ready...fire!"

They launched the bolts up into the sky for them to come down on the invading army. However, a woman in the sky was ready for it.

"_**Rhewi yn Cynnig**_" Nemain's eyes glowed a light pink before the arrows suddenly stopped in place at the air. It was like time stopped for them. She looked down to see the faces of the opposing army completely taken back. Nemain smiled at them and twisted her finger and the arrows turned around and had the points pointed back at their owners. Nemain thrust her arm out and the arrows shot for the shooters and went straight into their bodies.

Around, there were small fires going as Bayard and his army were pushing through the village, fighting off the soldiers there belonging to Lord Godwyn. Well, any who weren't tossed like rag dolls by her Ogres and their clubs. Nemain just shook her head at Bayard's attempts to now be a strong force when most of the hard work was finished. Despite the coward she had in her corner this was turning out fine. This time next week, they should have Godwyn himself in chains along with his daughter Elena.

* * *

There was a fireball flying through the air but it was absorbed by a twister of wind. The twister disappeared to reveal Kay as he stared up at Flint who was glowing like fire above him. Another fireball came for him and Kay jumped back before he brought his hands together and extended them out. A twister erupted form them and went up to Flint who just dropped down to avoid it.

The two of them were being watched by over two dozen members of the Order. They were in the valley between the Forest of Gedref and the village. This was the new training grounds for the Order members now. Since the secret was out about them, they didn't have to restrict themselves to a confined space anymore. The old grounds were still in use but for basic training and for the guards, who, themselves, had been confined to the arena. Merlin and Kilgharrah were also watching just a bit away...as were Gwaine, Leon and Tristan. Though the last three made sure that they were a little out of sight from anyone.

Merlin had to admit that their display outshined his against Angus. He remembered that Connor once told him that he had power but no technique. Seeing the Order practice, he saw that he should've listened to him. He was a powerful warlock and he had defeated sorcerers...but he wasn't a soldier. Angus...he was a soldier of magic and he guessed the other two Thorns were as well. To fight soldiers of magic, you would need soldiers of magic. He noticed Sir Kalen moving towards them.

"Hello Kalen."

"Merlin," he said nodding to him. "Kilgharrah." he said nodding to the dragon. "It's almost like old times with the Bloodguard isn't it?"

"Yes...it almost is," he said a little somberly.

Flint sent a wave of three fireballs at Kay, who conjured a twister around himself to absorb them, before extending it up and making it dive back down for Flint.

"They're impressive," Merlin said to him as he watched this new exchange. "Kay keeps saying he's not very good with magic but I have to disagree."

"When it comes to fighting in a war, yes," said Kalen with a nod. "Kay is good. More than good, his talent with air based spells is second to very few. But outside that, he can be outshone by a hedge wizard."

Flint moved back as the twister crashed down where he had stood. Kilgharrah looked up as Kay appeared in the sky as the twister surrounding him disappeared.

"He certainly does use them to overcome his disadvantages. Like now, using the air to keep him up in the air since he couldn't fly while Flint can."

"What?" Merlin asked looking at Kilgharrah a little confused. Kay was in the air, what did he mean?

"Merlin," said Kalen. "Kay can't fly. He's hovering up there. Don't you see the air lifting him by his feet?"

Merlin looked up and saw the twisters there. Come to think of it, he used that same technique with Galahad when they faced down Angus. "I see."

"Kay didn't have the power to fly," Kalen explained. "But that didn't' stop him. It wasn't flying but it was the next best thing."

"He seems happy with it though." Merlin said as he watched Kay send a stream of wind at Flint who answered with a stream of flames to meet it.

"Why wouldn't he?" asked Kalen.

Merlin shrugged. "I don't know. I guess, after everything I've been through, I thought he might be bitter about that."

"Power." Kalen said simply as if it did explain everything.

Kilgharrah tore his eyes from the two warriors. "I could see Flint does have a little bitterness."

Kalen nodded. "Flint didn't want to be a sorcerer. Magic never appealed to him but he had no choice and it did make him bitter about it. He is a bit better than he was 10 years ago though."

"What do you mean?" asked Merlin. "He was born with his power?"

"No," Kalen said shaking his head. "They were thrust upon him when he was younger."

"So that was it," said Kilgharrah. "I could sense something amiss with Flint and now I see."

"See what?" asked Merlin.

"Flint didn't exactly...have much of a good introduction into magic. In fact, he hated it." Kalen looked on at Flint as disappeared in a ball of flame. He then reappeared above Kay and kicked him in the chest.

"He...hated magic?" asked Merlin a little surprised. Flint seemed very skilled and he couldn't believe one that good at it would hate it.

"No...maybe a bit. It's complicated," Kalen said as Flint sent Kay back to the ground with a force of magical energy. "Flint may seem like a real hot head but he has real reason to be. Having Arthur and his knights here, again, it just may make him more on edge than usual."

"Who isn't?" he said rolling his eyes.

"Touche. Believe me, I'm not afraid to admit that I would like nothing more than to take my sword and ram it into their hearts but Flint probably wouldn't let them off that easy."

Merlin still found it a little odd that with all the threats that sorcerers usually gave Arthur and Camelot that the ones from Albion didn't seem to set him off. Probably because while they did threaten them, he trusted them not to act on them, at least without being provoked. Flint came back to the ground slowly as Kay was rolling on the ground a little from the pain of Flint's attack. Flint came by him and helped him up as they ended their skirmish.

The three watching knights stared off at them as applause broke from the assembled Order members. Leon had to admit that he was a little scared of Flint now.

"That Flint scares me."

Gwaine widened his eyes. "With someone that likes to surround himself in fire, I would be more concerned if someone said that they weren't."

Tristan nodded his head too. "I'm scared of Flint too but...I do respect him."

"Respect him?" asked Leon a little surprised.

"Flint might be happy to be aggressive to us, but I do have to respect the fact that he would push it aside with the others. Thankful for it actually."

"When you put it that way, I have to respect him too. Especially if it keeps me from burning without a stake." Gwaine joked.

"The main point is, that the five kingdoms fate may just rely on them, and it looks like they are happy to know that," said Leon a little spitefully. "They say that they would help us if they could but won't. And the fact is that they really can help us all but they just won't to spite us. They are just dangling their help above us." He looked on into the group and spotted Galahad patting Flint's shoulder. "It's infuriating."

"After the Great Purge, we can't exactly expect them to be jumping in excitement at the thought of helping us." said Tristan.

Gwaine's sight settled on Merlin and his dragon. They were talking with Sir Kalen. They claimed that the Thorns were their enemies and detested their brand of magic. And now they were Camelot's as well. "Maybe...we should try it the other way?"

"What?" asked Leon and Tristan.

"They won't help us...but maybe we should try helping them."

* * *

Gaius was rubbing Arthur's nose with a cloth soaked with a healing tonic for cuts. "I can't believe you turned your blade on a child Arthur." he scolded. News of what Arthur did reached the village and now Arthur was treating his bloody nose and treating him to some hard scolding.

"I thought he was going to hurt that other boy. I didn't know they were brothers having a spat. He used magic on him and I reacted."

Gaius gave him the 'eye' as Merlin often called it when he used it on him. "That's not the point. We're all at a delicate moment right now. The last thing we need is more fighting."

"I know. I'm sorry Gaius."

Gaius was now cleaning off the dried blood on his face. "You aren't doing your kingdom any favors acting this way."

"It doesn't matter," he droned. "I don't have a kingdom any more."

"Arthur, that's not true."

"Why not? Camelot is destroyed and the land belongs to Vortigern now. What can we do?"

"If you really believe that all it takes to be a king Arthur then you wouldn't be still be trying to look out for everyone." He looked at his bowl of water. "Eli, could you get me a fresh bowl?"

Eli took the bowl from Gaius and slammed a new one by them, slightly splashing Arthur. "Here you go." he said a little angrily.

"Eli?" said Gaius slightly confused.

"Is something wrong?" asked Arthur.

Eli just glared a little at Arthur before ignoring him and just walked off. "Eli," Gaius called after him but he didn't turn back. His father Trey, who was also there looked after his son leaving the medical tent.

Arthur was confused too. "Now what is it?"

"I don't know," Gaius said staring after him. He looked back at the king. "What now?"

"I need some information. More in-depth with the Thorns."

"Well...maybe someone who previously served them might help." he said looking to Trey.

"Him?"

Trey did hear what they were saying and he shook his head. "I can't say. Or really...I won't."

"Why not?" Arthur nearly shouted.

"After the way you treated my son's friends, I don't think I'm in the mood to serve you in any way. King or not."

His friends? Oh. "Those two...Todd and Dane. They're his friends?"

"Yes. Ever since we moved here." Trey said putting his hands to his hips and glared at him.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to the right person and then try asking me again and I might help you. But, it won't be for you. It'll be for him." he said pointing to Gaius. "I owe him for helping my son...and a little for myself."

* * *

**End of Chapter 13**

A/N: First, I want to say that I'm sure most of you have heard the news by now. Series 5 will be the last one for the show. I have to say that I was shocked. Though there is talk for a special. We'll see.

I hope you liked this chapter and how things are shaping up. Things aren't looking too good for the future of the Golden Age, do they? There is still too much going on between their side before they can even deal with Vortigern and his forces. Cross your fingers for them.

_Crymbl a Disgyn_ - Crumble and Fall

_Ffrwd Mellt_ - Lightning Stream

_Dur Cadwyni Ffurlen a Cyffion fy Ngelyn_ - Steel form chains and shackle my enemy

_Ewch a fi i Alined_ - Take me to Alined

_Codi Gwraidd_ - Raise root

_Gwthio_ - Push

_Rhewi yn Cynnig_ - Freeze in Motion


	14. Origins of Evil

**Dangers in the Path to Destiny**

A/N: This is the second chapter in the history of the Thorns and their plan for Camelot and the Purge. Now we get a look more in-depth with the Thorns plans for Camelot and the Old Religion that went into play so long ago. Both Merlin and Arthur get more than they ever wanted to know about how it has brought them to this point of misery. It's a long one chapter. I originally was going to cut it shorter but found that the next chapter then would've been much too long if I did.

* * *

_Little by little, the old world crumbled, and not once did the king imagine that some of the pieces might fall on him._

~ Jennifer Donnely, Revolution

* * *

Chapter 14: Origins of Evil

Arthur was sitting in his tent and using a mirror to look at his nose. It wasn't as bad as it could've been. He thought it may show for about a week before it started to fade. He heard the flap of the tent move and turned to see that it was Guinevere.

"Hi Gwen," he said looking back at his nose.

Guinevere stared at him for half a minute before she went over to him and gave him a tap to the back of the head.

"Arthur," she scolded.

Arthur reached back and lightly rubbed where Gwen hit him. "What is it with people hitting me today?"

"Well something has to be done to get the webs out of your head." she said with a slight glare. "You storm out of here this morning and then you go and pick a fight with a member of the Albion's Order of the Bear by brandishing your sword at his younger brother?"

"I admitted that it was a misunderstanding already," He felt he said that over a dozen times today. "I saw a sorcerer attack someone and I reacted. I didn't know it was a spat between brothers."

Gwen rubbed her eyes to relieve the stress. "Arthur...they were kids. How many times have we seen kids their ages go at each other in the city streets?"

"I know, I know alright. I get it. It was just a mistake." he said getting up and facing away from her.

Gwen stared after him. "Arthur...I also heard that those boys were friends of Eli's."

"Yes...he's angry with me too. He took off from me even when Gaius called after him."

"You honestly blame Eli? You held a sword to one of his friends in front of his younger brother. Did you think he would brush that off?" Arthur just kept looking away from her and Gwen softened when he saw his shoulders loosen a little. "There's something else, isn't there?"

Arthur rubbed his eyes. He really hated when Gwen did that. Read him so well even when he didn't say anything and now when he didn't even look at her. "How do you do that?" he asked sitting in a chair a little bit aways.

Gwen took a chair and put it in front of him and sat down. "I'm your wife. I wouldn't be if I couldn't do that." She took his hand and wrapped it in both of hers. "What is it Arthur? There's something else that happened today...wasn't there?"

"The oldest brother, Cade, he's a member of the Order and he told me a few things that..." he trailed off.

"What? Arthur?" she pressed on. "What is it? Don't shut me out now."

"He...said Camelot was used by the Thorns. That they used Camelot and the Great Purge to destroy their enemies...them."

Gwen looked as shocked as she felt. "What? How could there be sorcerers that wanted the Great Purge?"

"That's what I asked. Apparently, the Thorns are sorcerers that the ones of the Old Religion view as their enemy."

"Well...it seems we share that in common. Destroying kingdoms and eating souls, I could only imagine why they wouldn't be enemies. But...using Camelot?"

"I wouldn't believe it myself at all but...back at Camelot, Mab said something to me about Camelot's work being done. That they didn't need us anymore. When she said that...I felt that she was telling me the truth. And when Cade said that to me...I knew she was telling me the truth."

"I still don't understand," Gwen said as he pondered this news. "What could those three Thorns possibly have gained from this?"

"I don't know. They won't say." He leaned his back into the chair. "Eli's father, Trey, he apparently used to be a soldier under them before. Someone who served the Thorns could really help us understand what we need to know about them and he said that he could tell me more. But he said he wouldn't after what I did to his son's friend."

"He wouldn't at all?"

"Well he said I should apologize to the right person and then he might help us."

"Then you already know what to do then," said Gwen. "I'm surprised that you didn't when you made the mistake as it happened. Now I can see why Eli would be so mad at you to not even respond to Gaius' calls. Back at Camelot, you apologized to him immediately when you grabbed him but you didn't do the same for his friends that you grabbed."

"That was different," he said trying to defend himself.

"It was?"

Arthur wanted to keep trying to defend himself but he found that after those two simple words, he didn't have anything to do it with. Back in Camelot, he terrorized Eli because he let himself get carried away. He apologized soon after he realized his mistake to him but not to his friends because...of their sorcery. In the forest, he terrorized that boy because he again let himself get carried away by the sight of magic and after realizing his mistake, he just kept quiet. He should've apologized to the boy and even to his brother then. In fact, he didn't even apologize to their oldest brother even when he admitted to the mistake. He never apologized to a sorcerer before. And that is why he is now in this new mess. Now, he was pushing away those who were trying to help him.

Arthur breathed out. "I should find...Todd. I should apologize to him. His younger brother too. You should hit me over the head again. I should've done that as soon as I could've instead of putting it off like this." He was looking down at his feet so he didn't expect the sudden hit over the head. "Hey!" he shouted.

"What?" Gwen said a little too innocently. "You told me too."

"It was a figure of speech."

"Oh, guess I made a mistake."

"Now? Now you decide to not read me correctly?"

"What do you mean?" she said with another smile.

Gwen and Arthur suddenly burst out laughing. They laughed so hard that tears almost came out of their eyes. It was such a long time since they laughed that it tired them out too soon for their liking. Gwen was able to recover first.

"Come on. Let's go find Eli. He should tell us where his friends live."

"No..." he said looking out towards the flap of the tent. "It's already dark out. We should let him rest it off first."

Gwen smiled a little sadder. "Okay."

It was the following morning when the villagers saw the King and Queen of Camelot going through their village asking directions. Eventually, they stood before Eli's house in the village, where he used to live with his father prior to Camelot. Arthur went and knocked on the door and they could hear movement inside.

"Yes? Who is it?" sounded off Trey.

"Its...Arthur."

The door opened a crack and Trey face could be slightly seen. "Yes?"

"We...I," he immediately corrected. "I came to see if he could lead me to where his friends live. I want to apologize to both of them but I don't know where to find them."

"Really?" When Arthur nodded, Trey fully opened the door. "I'm sorry to say sire that Eli left a little while ago. He just so happened to go to Albion to visit his friends there."

"Oh...do you know when he'll be back?"

"He did ask if I wouldn't mind if he spent the night with them so I guess it is going to be sometime tomorrow that he would be back."

Arthur's shoulders slagged. "I see." he said disappointed.

"But...I know where they live."

"You do?"

"Of course. I can take you there myself."

The two of them smiled slightly. "Thank you Trey. We appreciate this," said Gwen.

"My pleasure," he said as he closed the door behind him. "Arthur...thank you."

"For what?"

"For this." he said before taking off.

Arthur spent a second confused before he and Guinevere took off after him. On the way, Elyan and Percival caught sight of them and followed after them as an escort as they made their way for the city of Albion.

* * *

Over in Queen Annis' castle, a knight of Camelot, Sir Dregan, was giving a report of the situation to her.

"So far, it seems they only get stronger every day." he said as Annis circled a table.

"If they could defeat Camelot so quickly then I would be a fool if I didn't take this seriously. Where is Arthur now?"

"He was on his way to the city of Albion the last time I was with him and the others who escaped. By now, they should already be there."

"Albion? That place that's now a public refuge for sorcerers? I must say, that's an odd choice for Arthur to pick for shelter."

"Yes...many of us thought so as well but he believed it to be the best option for us. From what we could gather, Vortigern and his magical allies happen to be enemies with the sorcerers of Albion. He hopes to enlist their aid in fighting them back."

"But how do we know that we could trust them."

"Believe me your highness," Dregan said with a slight bow in his head. "We've repeatedly asked Arthur that same question but he feels that, at this point, it is more dangerous to not have their help. Apparently, against the creatures that are with the Vikings, magic is needed to defeat them and nothing else will work. He believes that should be enough reason for us to form an alliance with them."

"Yes...I believe I can understand his decision as well."

"Yet, there is no guarantee that we will receive aid. Despite the fact that they are enemies, we kept pointing out to him that the other rulers are still enemies to them."

"You're right Sir Dregan." Annis went to a nearby window and gazed out onto the road leading from her castle. "We all are still enemies to Albion and that means we shouldn't expect any help despite this situation. My kingdom wasn't as severe as Camelot but we made a name for ourselves also. It was my husband that chose to join in Uther's purge of it and that has made us a prime enemy of sorcerers, all for our kingdom's future. Now...it seems that if I want my kingdom to _have_ a future I must now make allies of them." She let out a laugh. "How ironic."

"Yes," Dregan said a little nervously. "Others have been sent to Lord Godwyn and King Olaf to try to warn them too. Vortigern plans to have all the Five Kingdoms under his command."

"And it would appear that he is off to a good start. Camelot has always been such a strong kingdom, perhaps the strongest of us all, and he took it with ease. Chances are, he will take our lands just as easily."

"So what will you do your highness?" said one of her council members.

"...I don't know."

Little did she know, that at the border of her kingdom, flying gargoyles were blackening the sky over one of her villages with Mab and Lord Odin with his army right under them. Her people and warriors started to tremble in fear.

* * *

Merlin was walking off towards Arthur's tent with aggravation clear on his face. He desperately wanted to yell at the prat for making a new mess on top of everything else. It was easy for him to do so, he couldn't help but think. Until recently Merlin would have to clean up after him and even though he wasn't his servant anymore he found himself having to keep doing it. He reached for the flap of his tent and harshly pulled it open.

"Arthur! You prat!" Yet, when he was inside, he saw that he wasn't there. Neither was Gwen. He went outside and flagged down one of the guards. "Have you seen Arthur?"

"The king and queen left a little earlier this morning. They didn't say where they were going though."

"Thanks." he said before running off for the medical tent.

Currently, after nearly a week, there were only about 4 people still in need of medical attention from the chaos back in Camelot. The herbs and elixirs Gaius had borrowed from the healer in this village were making all of the injured better more radically then they would otherwise. Gaius was grinding a fresh one when he saw Merlin walking in with a stressed look in his face.

"Merlin? Is something wrong?"

"Have you seen Arthur?" he blurted out.

"No, not since yesterday. Is there something you need from him?"

"Did you hear what that prat pulled yesterday?"

"Yes," he said turning away and going back to his work. "I did. Don't you worry. I didn't let him off easy myself. Neither did Eli come to think of it."

Merlin was almost borderline hysterical in his anger. "He knows that everything is fragile right now and instead of trying to work and mend everything...he goes and tries to further shatter what peace there is left here. I know he is an idiot but I can't believe he would be so stupid."

"Trust me, Arthur was made clear just how stupid he was yesterday. I think he went into the village. I saw him and Gwen walking down there this morning."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

Merlin huffed as he left the tent. As he did, he bumped smack into Gwaine. "Merlin?"

"Sorry Gwaine. I wasn't paying attention."

"It's alright. Happens after I leave the tavern all the time."

"Have you seen Arthur?" he said dusting himself off.

"Yes. I heard from around the village that he was asking where he could find Eli."

"Eli?"

"Apparently, he wanted to ask for his help in finding some kids."

Merlin was surprised. "Kids...the ones from yesterday?"

"So...you know?"

"Who doesn't know?" Merlin began to rub his head. "I know Arthur is a little, no very, depressed with everything that's been happening but he's not helping anyone being this way."

"Don't worry about the princess. His queen is setting him straight right now. I heard that Elyan and Percival went with them and Eli's father for Albion a while ago."

To Albion? And he wanted to see the kids that he met yesterday? Could...could he be going to try and set things right? "Really?" he asked calming down a bit.

"Yes, Leon told me about it just now."

"Where is Leon?" Merlin asked. "And Tristan?"

"Tristan wandered off somewhere...and Leon went over to that part of the valley where you were yesterday."

"How did you know where I was yesterday?"

"We were sort of watching everything."

Merlin thought this was strange. "You were spying? You didn't have to. No one would've cared that you were watching the Order train."

"We know...it's just that...well." He stopped right there but Merlin didn't need him to go on. He understood.

"Right," he mumbled. The two of them soon took off together for the valley themselves. "I'm sorry if I said or did anything that made any of you feel uncomfortable around me. I have my reasons for saying what I did. I...hope you can understand that."

Gwaine shrugged. "I'm not sure I can understand it. I'm sure you noticed but I like to keep myself in affairs where things are simple. Though," he said quickly. "I don't think we're going to find a lot of that any time soon."

Merlin snorted. "No...no we're not."

"So...what are you off to do today? Training? All things considered, I think you might really need it."

"No," he said with a bit of a smile. "I...was just going to find some answers."

"What kind of answers?" At Merlin's hesitation, he figured it must be something really sensitive and related to magic. "Merlin...I know things haven't exactly been the same between all of us for a while now, but I want you to know that you can still trust me. If there is something that I feel you have to know or hear, I would tell you."

They kept on walking in silence and Merlin did appreciate Gwaine giving it to him. He needed it to organize his thoughts on what had been happening even before Camelot was destroyed. "I want to talk with Sir Flint."

"Flint?" The firery red head came back into his mind. "He's...quite the character."

"That's one way to put it," he said looking back at his friend.

"What's wrong?"

"Well...normally, I've seen Flint as someone who is actually quite a calm person. Before, whenever I had to come to Albion I've seen him quite calm. Yet...lately, he's been quite a hothead. Galahad told me once that he was usually like that right after a training battle but now he's been like that almost constantly."

"Merlin, I think it's not a secret why. He's been that way from the moment he saw us when we got here."

"I know...but now he's been like that even when he's nowhere near any of you. Even when this all happened last year, he was able to still be a little calmer than now. And..." he stopped.

"What? What is it Merlin?"

"The strange thing is that...I heard Flint doesn't even like magic."

This made Gwaine look as confused as Merlin felt. "He doesn't like magic. Then how is he so good? I mean, I saw him flying and I remember hearing that you had to be a strong sorcerer to do so."

"That's exactly what I thought. And, it got me to be very curious. Kilgharrah even sensed something with Flint yesterday though he didn't tell me. Maybe that's why he would be so agitated after he trains."

"Could there also be something to explain why he always lights himself on fire?"

"You noticed that too?"

Gwaine raised his eyes at him. "Who wouldn't? He has a serious obsession with fire." He thought back to when they first arrived. "You think it could have something to do with the Thorns? He seemed extra angry when Galahad and Kay mentioned them too."

"Well...if the Thorns are involved then I think something tells me its something I have to know."

* * *

Trey led the king and his party through the forest and soon came to the gorge and bridge leading to the city. The bridge was already set up and it actually seemed bigger and more sturdier than the last time they were there. There were two guards there in front of the bridge as well as two on the other side.

"Hello," Trey said waving at them. "I am just helping these four in. We're going into the city."

The guard looked Trey over as well as the others. Luckily, Arthur, Elyan and Percival weren't wearing their Camelot cloaks. Their clothes were being mended and they had to borrow some clothes from the village. It was previously a place known for it's linen for clothing so there was plenty. They didn't want to draw so much attention to themselves.

The guard's gaze on the king lingered for a few seconds before he nodded. "Go ahead." he said waving them in. "Your boy came through just around an hour ago."

"Yes, I know. I'm going to meet up with him now actually."

They started to cross the bridge and went into the richer batch of forest into Albion. The cooling weather was starting to make the leaves start to slightly brown but it still was lush. There were sounds of excited chatter sounding through that part of the forest. Like there were children shouting and cheering. Arthur even heard the familiar sound of steel banging against one another.

"Wait. There's a fight going on," he said.

"There is?" asked Trey.

"I would know that sound from anywhere."

Gwen shook her head in amusement. "He would know the sound of swords anywhere."

Trey raised his eyes for a moment before shrugging it off. "Probably a pair of conscripts training."

"In the middle of the woods?" Arthur asked disbelieving. "What about the training grounds that are here? Besides, don't you hear the kids too?"

Trey turned and saw Arthur trying to follow the noise and they all walked after him to get him back on track.

"Arthur." Elyan called out. "Wait."

Arthur knew that he could be walking into another disaster the sounds of sword fighting out in the woods did warrant a look. Arthur soon came upon a small clearing and saw some around a half dozen kids, from 10 to 15 years old watching three with swords. The three of them seemed to be 15 or so and they were dressed in the garb of the Albion soldiers. Two of them were ganging up on the last one of them, with neat chestnut brown hair but he seemed to be handling himself fine. His work with the sword seemed to be quite good to Arthur to be able to hold off two at once. The boy was getting cheers from the audience they had drawn in.

Guinevere, Elyan, Percival and Trey joined in and began watching as well.

"Oh," said Trey smiling at the sight. "It's Garrett. He's training with some of his fellow trainees."

"Garrett?" asked Gwen. "Where do I know that name?"

"Probably from his father. He did stay with you guys for a year." Trey explained.

Elyan and Gwen's eyes shot out. "Galahad." they both whispered.

Arthur looked back at the boy in question. He heard about Galahad having a child with a witch, so this was him. Judging from how he was holding off two men at once, he had inherited his father's natural skill. He did have Galahad's cheekbones and even his build though he wasn't as tall as he pictured. He also had a big youthful and carefree smile on him that would be out of place on Galahad.

Gwen thought that Garrett looked slightly like Galahad did when he was that age. The hair was lighter and more well kept then Galahad's was but his smile was close to how his was. Gwen could also see that his eyes were also different than his father's and he also didn't seem to be as tall as he was. Also, she heard that he inherited his mother's affinity with magic as well though he wasn't using any right now.

Garrett parried a hit from one of the combatants before he kicked him down and engaged the other one. He held him back before he managed to knock his sword away and knocked him down on his back. He then had his sword over the other guy before he could get up again. The other boy froze and looked up at Garrett and dropped his sword.

"Yield."

Garrett looked to the other boy who he disarmed. "Yield?"

"Yield" he said letting his head fall back and rest on the ground.

Clapping began to sound from the assembled audience. Garrett sheathed his sword and helped the other two boys up. The three of them bowed to them all. One of them, Arthur recognized.

"That's the younger brother, err..."

"Dane." said Trey. "He's training to be a soldier of the Albion army. Who knows, he might even make it into the Order of the Bear itself one day."

"But if he's here...then" Arthur looked at the assembled kids again, more closely this time, and his eyes soon fell upon them. The boy he terrorized, Todd, and next to him was Eli. It looked like the eldest Cade was a member in the Order and the youngest Dane was a soldier conscript. "So...the other boy, Todd. He's training to be a soldier too?"

"No," said Trey. "He actually wants to be a carpenter. He's been whittling little figurines and wooden statues since he was a boy. Eli actually has a couple he made by his bed."

That threw off Arthur a little. A sorcerer who wanted to be a carpenter, had tripped his younger brother with magic. A younger brother that was actually training to be a soldier at that.

Suddenly a taller man, one in full Order garbs, Cade, walked over to the three of them and clapped himself. "Not bad Garrett. Fighting two men at once."

"I'm hoping to make it to four by this time next year." he said with a carefree tone coming down on him. "Some day...I'll be able to handle being surrounded...like my dad."

"Sir Galahad is one of the best. I wouldn't be surprised if some day, you do." He turned to the other two boys. "Dane, Craig, good work yourselves. Though, you should clean up your form in approaching your opponent. You two leave yourselves too open and that's why he took you down so easily."

"Thank you Sir Cade," the one named Craig said. "I will." He bowed and took off with a few of the kids following after him and talking excitedly.

That left only Eli, Todd and two girls with them.

"I thought you were great Dane," said one of the girls.

"Thanks Leslie." he said in a smile.

"Yes," said Todd. "You were great in the dirt like that."

"Thanks Todd," he said in a dull voice.

"Try being nicer to your younger brother Todd," the girl Leslie said with a roll of her eyes before she and her friend took off.

The boys all stared off after them. Cade folded his arms at him. "Smooth move there Todd."

"Shut up," he said to the others smirks.

Cade took his sword off as well as one of his armor plates. "Maybe you could let out some of that tension in carrying our swords and gear away to the training armory." he said as Garret gave him his sword as well.

"Me?"

Cade shrugged. "Well, you were punished with armory duty for the week. You can start with this."

"I still can't believe you got me that." he complained as he took the pieces one by one.

Cade narrowed his eyes at him. "Would you have preferred I made it a month instead? You used your magic to pull something stupid on Dane, now you pay the price. It's amazing that while Dane is younger than you, you are the immature one."

"Yeah," said brother just said. "You know...I think I've seen Leslie around the area of the Glass Shop when Deaton comes carrying those big, heavy sacks. Who knows, she might decide to switch to the armory if she notices another strong guy our age lifting heavy stuff."

The boys all snorted while Todd gave him an evil eye. Cade didn't laugh though. "Dane, enough. I'm sure that Todd gets the point now. Don't rub his nose in it."

"Well, I'm happy to carry your things Garrett." Todd said picking up the straps of Garrett's scabbard. "I know you'll make Sir real soon."

"Maybe not as soon as your big brother did though."

Cade shrugged the compliment off. "I was lucky."

"You don't get lucky getting a title like that," Percival said as he walked to him.

The young men all looked up to see Arthur, Percival, Elyan, Guinevere and Trey walking up to them.

"He's right you know," said Elyan.

Percival looked right into Cade's eyes. "I saw your test last year. You earned your spot. It wasn't luck at all."

"Thank you," Cade said stiffening slightly at the sight of Arthur.

"Dad?" asked Eli a little surprised. "Sire," he said a moment later to Arthur though he didn't make eye contact.

"Can we help you?" Cade asked drawing everyone back to the original reason why Arthur was looking for them.

"I actually came into Albion because I wanted to find Todd."

Todd almost dropped the things he was carrying at the mention of his name. He seemed fidgety now that he was facing the king again. His eyes fell to Excalibur which hung at his side. "Me?"

"What do you want with Todd now?" Cade asked putting a comforting arm on his shoulder and drawing him a little back.

"To apologize," Arthur said, stopping him from getting blocked from his view.

"What?" Cade asked.

"I want to apologize to him for what I did yesterday. I...overreacted to what was happening and I shouldn't have scared him or even Dane by pulling my sword out at him. It was stupid, mean and from what I hear, he already received a just punishment for his actions. What I did was far out of line." He waited until Todd looked around past his big brother to face him. "I wanted to say that I am sorry threatening you like that yesterday." He then looked to Dane. "And even say sorry to you for making you watch your older brother have a sword drawn at his neck. I'm sorry if I scared you too."

"That's it?" Cade asked.

"That's it."

Cade looked down to his younger brothers and saw them looking at Arthur, calming down. Todd's breathing had been a little labored but he was starting to relax a bit now. Todd stepped around his brother and nodded to the king. "Thank you." Arthur nodded back and made it clear that there should be no further hard feelings between them.

"Alright...Todd, let's go. You have work to do."

"Okay," he said before he went and followed Cade off. Dane went with them and offered to take some pieces of Cade's armor off Todd's hand but he insisted to his brother that he got it.

Only Eli and Garrett were left and Eli was now smiling at Arthur slightly. Arthur noticed. "Are you okay Eli?"

"I'm okay." he said with a nod. "I should get going. I'll see you later dad."

"Be safe son," he said as he ran to catch up with his friends. He looked to the king with a smile much like the one his son gave him. "I'm starting to see what Master Merlin sees in you now Arthur. What you can be."

"Err..thank you?" He wondered what it was that Merlin had been saying to these people while he visited the past year before he remembered Garrett. "Hello," he said extending his hand. "I'm Arthur Pendragon. I know your father." Garrett slowly took it and gave him a polite return shake.

"So did I," said Guinevere. "My brother and I grew up with him."

"He's a good man," Elyan added.

"Thank you," he said a little red blush forming. "I know. He's one of the best." He turned back to Arthur. "That was a very good thing you did for those two. Maybe you are better than we thought."

"Arthur," said Trey. "Do you still want some more information on the Thorns and their actions."

"Oh," said Arthur. He had completely forgot about that. "Right. Yes. You'll actually tell us more about them?"

"Yes, though I should warn you, I'm not much of a story teller."

"That's okay," said Arthur.

"Wait," said Garrett. "If you want to get in depth in what Eli's father has to tell you. I know something that will help."

* * *

Merlin came to the valley where he could see Kalen training with another member of the Order of the Bear. He could see that Kilgharrah was again watching off to the side a little bit aways. His big golden eyes seemed to be focused on Kalen as he moved about on the field. The Order was assembled and he and Gwaine could see Flint with his fire red hair calmly looking on though he was still slightly glaring.

He went over to him and stood by his right side. "It's Kalen's turn to train?"

Flint gazed at him before turning back and watching. "Yes, he and Abel are working on their swordsmanship skills right now." He glanced back at him and noticed Merlin still looking at him. "What is it Merlin?"

"Flint...I was wondering if I could talk to you."

Flint glanced a little at Gwaine but he decided to try and ignore him. "What about?"

"Kilgharrah and I heard that you don't like magic, though you seem to be so skilled. I...it just ddin't make sense to me and I wanted to ask you about it."

Flint was silent for a moment as he kept watching his friends practice. After a while, "It's not...that I don't like magic...I just never cared for it. I never even wanted to be a sorcerer."

"Then how did you become one? If you didn't want to be one then I'm guessing you didn't study magic and I heard you weren't born with your powers."

"Let's move over to Kilgharrah. I'm sure he could help me explain." They walked over to the dragon and he nodded to them as he saw them approach. Flint breathed in a little as he started to tell his story, unbeknownst to them, Leon was close by and listening in. "It all started a little over twenty years ago. The Great Purge was starting to become quite a strong event though it hardly bothered me. Back then, I was just an orphan that just wandered from place to place and worked to have some food to eat and a place to sleep. In fact, I didn't even have a name. I was alone for as long as I could remember and people just called me 'Boy' or 'You'." As he explained, the time played back in his mind.

_**Flashback**_

In a shop in a small town within Camelot, there was a 16 year old orphan that was working there for the last three days for food and a bed. Flint was sweeping the floor of shop that had a strong collection of dust on the floor. Glass bottles were on the shelves that different syrups, spices and preserved fruits in them. His black hair was slightly covered in dust. The shopkeeper was standing behind his counter watching him and counting his money for the day. He was slightly unpleasant.

"After you're done, go and sweep up the backroom. But, don't touch anything on the shelves there. I have some valuable products and fragile treasures in there. Understand boy?"

"Yes sir," Flint said still sweeping.

Suddenly, there was a commotion right outside and the door had started getting pounded on. "Simon Flick, come out right now. By order of the King Uther of Camelot."

"What's happening?" asked Flint.

"Stay inside and keep working," the shopkeeper said as he stepped outside.

Flint took a look out the window and saw some knights speaking with him. Flint just shrugged and kept working. Suddenly, a small oil pot crashed through the window scaring him and it was followed by a torch. Flint gasp as the store started to catch fire.

* * *

Garrett cast a spell to fill a bowl with water. They were at the Academy and Garrett unsealed the room where there was a collection of magical devices and instruments. He claimed that he had clearance to do so and went for the same Seethe Bowl that Arthur used with Connor last time he was here. It was a bowl that allowed someone's memories to be absorbed and observed objectively. Garrett recommended that Trey could show Arthur what he wanted to help him explain about the Thorns. When the bowl was filled with water, Trey dunked his face in to fill it with his memories.

"Okay," he said as he got back up. "It's ready."

"What do we do?" asked Gwen.

"You just place your hand inside the water and let it do the rest," Garrett explained as he gestured everyone to crowd around the bowl.

"It's okay," said Arthur. "I used this thing before with Connor. It was a little strange but it's safe."

They placed their hands into the water and suddenly found themselves in on a field. There were soldiers in pale green colors, with the symbol of the House of Tregor, and they seemed to be engaging 10 warriors in twilight blue. The Order of the Bear. The four from Camelot could make out a younger Connor, Galahad, Kay, and Kalen fighting them. There were 6 others with them and there were using both their weapons and magic against the soldiers they were fighting. Arthur guessed that these were the Original 10 that Sir Cade told him about. They also saw Connor's Chimera was fighting as well. Beyond, they could make out a slightly ruined village and a few villagers were both fleeing and watching the battle.

"There I am," said Trey pointing. They followed his finger and saw a younger version of himself in the Tregors colors. He was blown back by a spell from Kay that sent him and a three others flying back on their backs. "Wait for it," he said as he saw himself blasted.

Just then a bolt of lightning struck the ground and made everyone freeze in their tracks. Suddenly, 13 cloaked figures with familiar thorns on their robes appeared in the sky, The Brotherhood of the Thorn, and were slowly descending to the field. At the new arrival, the surviving soldiers began retreating or standing behind the new sorcerers. Trey was one who went to stand behind them and kept his sword at the ready. When the ones in the sky were low enough, they stopped descending but everyone could see that they had their hoods up so they couldn't see their faces.

"That's them?" asked Gwen.

"Yes," said Trey. "Those are the Thorns. This is when they first met them when they tried to fend off an attack on a Celtic village. The king made attacks like this in order to find some new slaves out of the stronger men and farmhands. Sad to say that I was part of it." he said dropping his gaze.

The middle one took his hood off revealing a handsome man with deep dark spiked hair and dark eyes. "So...you're this Order of the Bear we've been hearing about. You've been causing our king quite the aggravation."

"It was our pleasure," Connor said with a smug smile. The others with him nodded in agreement as they looked at them with glares. The Chimera Emrys growled at them.

"So, you must be Connor. I would expect someone with your reputation to be...older. I am Micah, the leader of the Thorns."

At that, the other 12 took off their hoods. Yet, Arthur, Guinevere, Elyan and Percival's jaws dropped at the sight of one of them. It was Sir Flint.

* * *

**End of Chapter 14**

A/N: I hope you're liking the new development. Garrett is my interpretation of Sir Gareth, sometimes Garrett from the knights of the round table. Tell me what you thought about Flint and his connection with the Thorns. More will be explained about the past in the next chapter. Also, a random fact, in my last story when Arthur and the others saw Merlin and Connor's duel, the two boys who Arthur heard talking about their magic, those were Todd and Dane.


	15. The Workings of Evil

**Dangers in the Path to Destiny**

A/N: I'm glad to see so much buzz from the last chapter. So many hits on its first day. I was so proud. I hope this one does me and you all just as good. Also, looking back at my chapters, I realized that number 13 wasn't really a dive into the past like the following two so I decided that this one was really the second dive into history and I promised three so the next chapter will be the true final look into the Thorns' history as well as our Flint's look into them as well.

* * *

_It's so hard to forget pain, but it's even harder to remember sweetness. We have no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from peace._

~ Chuck Palahniuk, Diary

* * *

Chapter 15: The Workings of Evil

_**Flashback**_

The fire blocked off the way to the door and the flames were rising to the roof. Flint was squinting his eyes to try and see through the building smoke. He went to a window when a spear struck his hand and made him step back. A soldier of Camelot kept striking at the window to ensure that no one could get out. Flint could see some surrounding the building to make sure it was sealed while the shopkeeper was thrown into a cage. At the sight of someone trapped inside, the soldier jeered at the sight of a trapped person.

"Help!" he tried calling out.

Flint found himself running into the backroom and shut the door behind him to block off the smoke. He found the air getting hotter and hotter. Smoke was pouring into the room in the cracks at the door and Flint was getting even more scared. His then dark black eyes starting to shine. Suddenly, the wall behind him lit itself on fire and there was a crackling sounding in front of him too. He was trapped. He took a piece of cloth and tried to fan at the approaching flames but that just made the cloth catch the fire too. Fire started to surround Flint and he soon found himself boxed in. He started to cry and became hysterical. He bumped into the shelves and vials and small boxes crashed to the floor and shattered. Suddenly the flames started to kiss his skin and he started flailing around. Then he bumped into a corked glass which shattered and a bright light poured out of it.

Flint hardly noticed it. All that he had on his mind was the pain and heat of the fire was giving him. The fire enveloped him and his screams were so loud that it blocked the strong neighing that was also sounding in the room. The light had taken a shape but it too seemed to be suffering from the fire. The light suddenly enveloped Flint and channeled it's way into his being through his nose and mouth.

* * *

"That's Flint," Arthur said pointing him out. Flint looked a little younger than his present self, by at least 10 years or so. Though the build and hair hadn't changed much from back then. The only distinct difference was his cloak of the Thorns over the robes and mail of the Order of the Bear...as well as the almost wicked look in his slight golden brown eyes.

"Yes," said Trey very calmly. "It is. Back when he was one of the Thorns himself."

"He was a Thorn?" asked Elyan. "But...how did he become a member of the Order?"

"He...consumed souls too?" asked Percival.

"No," Trey said quickly answering Percival over Elyan. "He didn't. You don't have to worry about that. He was the newest member of the Thorns then. His resolve was different from most of the other members."

"Your son told us that they destroyed most of them." said Arthur.

"Yes. They destroyed most of them. Today, only five of those 13 are still alive today, 3 of them still on the side of evil."

"What? There are five of them alive?" This was making no sense to Arthur.

"Perhaps you should keep watching first," said Trey looking back at the Thorns.

Out of the 13 of them, Flint seemed to be younger than the majority. Though, there was another in the Thorns that looked a bit younger than Flint was but not by much. They further analyzed the others and immediately picked out Angus and Mab from the group. They weren't any different from whom they seen back in Camelot. They also noticed that Mab wasn't the only woman in the Thorns. There were a total of 10 men and 3 women that made up the Thorns.

Arthur looked on at the Thorns' leader as he lowered himself further until he was on the ground. "I can see the type of power you all wield. Especially you Connor. A Beast Tamer. Someone like you is quite rare. And for one to survive the Purge in Briton, you must be powerful. Powerful enough to have such a beast to call," he said gesturing his Chimera. "All of you. We could use men like you on our side."

Connor didn't flinch. "Forget it," the young man said defiantly. "You attack innocent people and enslave them. I could never be a part of something that destroys the lives of innocent people."

Arthur was stricken with the conviction in Connor's words. He probably wasn't even the age of 20 at this time but he'd seen men twice his age who would be taken aback at such passion. The leader, Micah, apparently wasn't.

"What about your men?" He looked to the others. "You could all discover power and riches beyond your wildest dreams. King Palin rewards those who aid him greatly. He is not as blind and weak minded as the rulers from your homelands."

A member of the Order around Connor's age, one with twin swords, he walked up and stood at Connor's side. "I will never side with men like you."

Galahad also stepped forward. "My answer is the same as Caleb's." There was a mumbling of 'Go father' from Garrett at sight of his young father defying the Thorns.

"And mine," said Kalen.

"Mine too," said Kay.

One by one, the other five also rejected Micah's offer. Arthur couldn't help but respect all of them more in that moment than anything else. As did Elyan, Percival and Gwen. They were all outnumbered but they showed no fear whatsoever.

Micah just shook his head and laughed lightly to himself. "I just don't understand. I would hate to see such power and skill as all of yours go to waste. Maybe a demonstration would best help you make the smart choice." He looked up at his fellow Thorns. "Flint, how about you? Would you mind showing them our power?"

Flint nodded and lowered himself to the ground. "Of course Micah," he said not taking his eyes off them.

"The rest of you, move out!" Micah yelled to the soldiers.

Trey and the others started to distance themselves as all the Thorns but Flint vanished. Flint was left facing the Order but he didn't have any fear himself.

But what followed was a mystery as the memory started to fade away.

"What's happening?" asked Percival.

"My memory is over," Trey explained. "I ran out and didn't see what happened. But I did hear about it. Flint knocked the Order around to demonstrate the power of being under Palin Tregor but no one died. The Thorns and even the Tregors were hoping to have them and their power on their side. Saw them as too valuable to just throw it away...then." he added as a new memory was forming.

"How did Flint come to be here in Albion?" Elyan said repeating his question from before.

"I'm not sure about the details. I didn't have many encounters with Flint back then, he wasn't the Thorn I was assigned to. Besides, that's more his story to tell."

* * *

_**Flashback**_

The fire completely encased the building of the shop now. The knights and majority of the soldiers marched off with their prisoner, heading for Camelot for Uther to pass judgement on him. The charge was for him to answer for dealing and trading with sorcerers and being in possession of things of magical nature.

However, there was one more who was punished who didn't need to be. Screams could be heard from the outside but they eventually ceased and many of the people soon left when they did. Only a half dozen of Camelot's soldiers remained to make sure no one else approached the flaming building. They were busy watching the fire just cackle when, suddenly, a bit of the wall collapsed off and a shape came out of the new hole. There was fire surrounding the shape but it kept moving out, running quite clumsily, towards the nearby marsh. The men followed it and called for it to stop. They got closer and saw that it seemed to be a person and was still covered by fire. The figure wouldn't stop running until he fell to his knees and suddenly the flames died out.

It was a boy and he seemed completely unharmed though covered in places with black soot. He was bent down with his head on his stomach like he was in silent pain. The men looked on but jumped back when they saw his hair slowly changing color. The black hair of this boy was slowly shifting from black to red from the roots. As that was happening, the boy's black eyes started to lighten in tone and go for a golden like tint.

One of the soldiers started to advance. "Magic. A sorcerer," he said stepping up to him. "You're under arrest," he said going to grab him. As he made contact, he jumped back and screamed in pain. The other soldiers looked at him and saw his hand redden like he had touched pure fire.

They unsheathed their swords and ran for the sorcerer but it was little use. The boy's now golden brown eyes flashed gold without him knowing it and then all the men suddenly burst into flames. They screamed and wailed about until they dropped dead and their bodies quickly flashed and they were reduced to charcoal. The boy then screamed out into the sky and started crying. He didn't care, he just wanted to lie there and finally die. Or was he already dead? Was he in hell? Did he die in that fire finally and was brought here to suffer more pain? He didn't know how long he stayed there until he heard footsteps and they were coming closer. They suddenly stopped in front of him and he looked up. He saw a man in a cloak wrapped in what seemed to be vines with thorns. The man just looked down at him before he extended his hand to him as if to help him up.

_**End Flashback**_

"And from that day on, I had been imbued with the power of magic," Flint finished. Flint's eyes slightly flinched at the memory back from his childhood. To be honest, he relived that time everytime he used magic, especially his ones of fire, but talking about that time like that was actually worse.

Gwaine was looking at Flint with a slightly pained look in his eyes. He had wondered why Flint was so fascinated with fire and he joked about it too, but now he saw that it was no joke at all. He couldn't imagine how it was to actually burn alive and not die. Looking at Flint, you would think that nothing like that could've happened at all. No scars or marks were left on him at all but that fact alone made it even more scary. Hearing that story could've sobered him any day.

Merlin was...shocked to say the least. He knew that people's dive into magic could be bad, but Flint's was one of the worst he'd ever heard. To go through something so traumatic and leave from it with magic and not understand what was happening? He couldn't imagine what went through Flint's mind when that all happened. "But...how did that give you magic exactly?"

Flint went and looked towards the sky at the clouds. "That shopkeeper collected many things, some of a magical nature. One of those bottles happened to contain the soul or essence of a Pegasus that a greedy sorcerer sealed away for a trophy."

"A Pegasus?" he'd never heard of one of those before.

"It's a majestic horse that has wings. It's quite a majestic magical animal," Flint explained.

"Yes," said Kilgharrah with a nod. "It has a close relation to the unicorns. They're not as pure as them but they truly are a magical sight to behold."

"It turns out, the shopkeeper I had worked for had collected the spirit or soul of one locked away in a bottle. During the fire, I had destroyed it's prison and released it. It's spirit was also swallowed by the flames like I was. It suffered in them just as much as I did and also burned. I'm not sure I understand how or why, but it bonded with me, saving me and itself and imbued me with it's magic."

Suddenly, a light red aura started to surround Flint and in the back of his mind, Merlin could almost hear a horse neighing. So, Flint's magic wasn't even his own but the power from a creature of magic. This was something new. He'd never known about a magical creature giving a person magic before.

Kilgharrah looked down at the red head. "To think that someone would commit a disgusting act to such a beautiful creature of magic. Some men would do anything for a trophy."

"What do you mean Kilgharrah?"

"When a pegasus is slain, it's body willl quickly start to deteriorate and turn to dust in under a day or so. No head to mount and display for a hunter. Whoever did this to the creature wanted a trophy to last and show off. But to barter something as precious as it's soul off as well..." Kilgharrah seemed to disgusted to even finish.

"Don't worry Kilgharrah," said Flint. "The one who hunted my friend and took it's soul was dealt with. By him in fact," he said pointing out to Kalen who was still training with his sparring partner.

"Kalen?" Gwaine asked.

Flint seemed to realize that Gwaine was still there. He even looked surprised that a knight of Camelot would even care. Though he shrugged off his surprise and continued with his story. "It turned out he was an old enemy of the Bloodguard...and the Dragonlords as well," he said looking at Merlin. "I didn't find out until after he was killed though."

"That's good to hear," Kilgharrah said looking to strong Order member who was unaware they were discussing him.

"He was one of the Thorns...my old group." he added a little quietly and quickly.

"What?" all three of them asked.

"The man...the one who came to me that day, he was another one of the Thorns. A ruthless and evil seer by the name Camille. He was also one of the prime planners behind the Great Purge."

While they all were shocked to hear about Flint's involvement, their eavesdropper Leon was shocked for another reason. He knew the name Camille. It was the name of a lord that visited from Eire during the early days of the Purge who assisted Camelot in hunting sorcerers with Sir Kenrick and Sir Lucien. He remembered because he often heard their names spoken during his training days as they were regarded as heroes in the War against Magic.

* * *

The new memory was finished, Arthur and the others found themselves in a grand room of a castle. There were six of the Thorns in the front of the room. One of them they recognized as Angus though they didn't know the other five. And there were over a dozen troops serving as guards at different points of the room. Trey was one of them.

"The one that I directly served under was Camille. He's that one," he said pointing him out. "He had great power but his most defined ability was his talent to see the future. He often liked to manipulate events to his own ends."

Camille had curly short deep brown hair. He was a little pale but seemed to carry himself very well, like a nobleman. Angus still looked the same though it was obvious that he wasn't happy at the moment. None of the Thorns present were.

"What's so special about this memory?" Arthur asked.

"This is a little bit after the Order defeated the first of the Thorns and destroyed him. I thought this memory would be good to show because it has information that I think you may need to hear."

"Who are the others?" asked Elyan. "We already know Angus there," he said pointing him out.

"Well...those two there are Aaron and Oron," he said pointing to two twins. The two of them were slightly bulky and mean looking. "The one on Camille's left is Lucien" Lucien had very short blond hair but was a tall fellow. "and the one next to him is Kenrick." Kenrick had a small deep scar over his right eye but other than that was a handsome looking man. All of them seemed to be in their early thirties.

"Camille, Lucien and Kenrick." Arthur said repeating those names softly. "Why do those names sound so familiar?" He looked back at Trey. "Are any of these..._people"_ He said for lack of a better word "still alive?"

Trey shook his head. "No. All but Angus are dead now. The Order saw to that."

He was shushed by Gwen as they began talking.

Angus went and kicked at a table. "I can't believe that those upstarts actually managed to defeat Ezekiel."

"At least he killed one of them before he fell," said one of the twins.

"Like that matters." Lucien stepped up. "Now that there is victory over one of us, more rebels and slaves will be inspired to join in on the side of that beast tamer. The king has enough difficulty pushing on without having to worry about our own territories."

"Damn that Ezekiel," said the other twin. "He was more trouble then he was worth. How Micah could've inducted him into our group is beyond me."

"Don't fret," Camille said looking completely calm. "Ezekiel was the weakest of us after all. If that pathetic warrior Kay managed to defeat him then he deserved to die. We are a different story. It's no cause for concern."

"What about the new surge of insurgence?" pelted Lucien. "Is that no cause for concern as well?"

Camille wasn't fazed. "If simple minded fools want to flock to their side because they managed to get lucky against a weakling then that's their own stupidity that is at fault. We actually have bigger things on our agenda then dealing with that fool's blunder." He went to a box and took out a rolled up scroll. "Apparently, you, Kenrick, Prince Robert and I were invited to Camelot for the annual 10 year tournament. Robert is going as am I. What about you two?"

At the mention of his kingdom Arthur perked up. And the tournament, he remembered that one. It was the one his father had won before he competed in the next one.

Kenrick was hardly fazed. "I'm not going to go. Now that the dragons are gone, there's nothing of value in those lands for me now." He fingered what looked like a claw on a string on his neck. "If anyone asks about me, simply say that I'm unwell. I got everything I could've wanted from them. Except...that dragon Uther has under his castle. I bet it's soul would be quite filling."

Camille leered at him. "I told you why you have to leave that one. It's actually vital."

"Yes, I know," Kenrick said like they had this talk far from the first time. "It's the same every year with you. "It has spite to build and grudges to mold and set in motion." I get it...but I spent too long with being patient, I want more upfront action and less of this behind the curtain manipulation."

Arthur narrowed his eyes. They were talking about Merlin's dragon. He wondered what he meant about them ensuring grudges.

"It'll come. What's a few more years to us? As for the tournament, I said Robert is going so I'm going," said Camille moving back onto the last topic. "There are a few more things for me to tweak to our advantage."

"Like what?" asked Lucien. "Uther and his kingdom are already doing what we want. Keeping up the hunt for Old Religion stragglers. The primary targets have been taken cared of. There's no need for us to return and do anything more at this point."

"For our invasion, probably not." Camille said before pointing to his eyes. "Yet, I've always seen to the larger plans instead of the immediate results. It pays to have a contingency scheme, just in case." He stepped away slightly and gazed out of a window. "I recently saw a lingering young priestess who needs a little...push to a more personal purpose. One that will take her to creating near unmendable relations between the people of Camelot and magic."

"Why do you bother?" asked Angus. "Those lands are already heading into the future that we want for our ultimate conquest. They've already destroyed the major and most powerful icons and groups of the Old Religion and can take it from there."

"Like they took care of the ones who went into the Order of the Bear?" he argued back. "I just want to ensure the most glorious and destructive future possible is in the making. In case of any mishaps that come our way. Want to stay at least two steps ahead." He looked over to Lucien. "What do you say Lucien? Are you coming or not?"

He huffed and rolled his eyes. "Fine. I have to get rid of some useless sorcerers anyway. We could always use more gold from Uther for them."

Angus snorted and struck a silly smile. "Idiot. Always paying you good gold for pitiful and talentless sorcerers, and after you drain the souls from them. And the whole time, the real sorcerer types that he aims for is the one he deals with and even honors as heroes. He pays us money to one day use against his own kingdom and all for harmless shells that he burns for stroking his ridiculous ego and tempering away any real allies his kingdom could've had at the same time. It never stops being funny." At that, all the Thorns broke into giggle fits that even made tears form in some of their eyes.

The memory started to fade again but Arthur was starting to see red. "What was all of that?"

Trey breathed in a little and prepared for the headache that was sure to come. "The Thorn I served directly under was Camille. He was what is known as a seer. Do you know what that is?"

"A seer?" asked Percival. "I've heard of them before. Weren't those people that had to power to see into the future?" Trey nodded to his answer. "I thought that was just a myth."

"No, it's a very real magical gift that a real few are born with. In Camille's case, he was able to use the energy of souls, his favorite and preferred targets were souls of sorcerers, to have near perfect control of them. Usually, a seer would often see into the future through an exhausting trance or mental meditation but commonly they would see it in their dreams."

At that, Arthur's mind went spinning. He remembered that Morgana used to have frequent nightmares for as long as he could remember and she was a witch. "These foretelling dreams, could they be seen as nightmares?"

"Well...if the futures they are seeing are scary and horrifying then, it's possible. Why?"

Arthur caught Gwen's eye and he knew that she was probably making the same connection that he did. After all, she was Morgana's maidservant for a long time. "No reason. Just curious." he said unconvincingly.

"You seem to know a lot about all this Trey." Gwen commented to try and get this topic done with. "The Thorns too."

He shrugged. "You don't serve and live with sorcerers for most of your life and _not_ learn about magic. Besides, as a soldier who stood still and acted as a guard and protection, you tend to pay attention to things so you won't get bored staring at the walls all day. Ask any one of your guards and I'm sure they would agree with me."

Now that he said that, Arthur had a few times wondered how his guards around the castle and throne room could just stand stiff all day. He never liked being still for too long and thought that if he did then he might go crazy. He thought on that for a moment but only a moment. For then, the anger he felt from the Thorns' laughter came back to replace it. "What exactly do you know about what Camille had been saying?"

"Oh, Camille had apparently been working on manipulating events and people in your lands for years. Over a hundred maybe even longer. He wanted to leave all of Briton as helpless and run into the ground as possible for invasion. With Vortigern now conquering the Five Kingdoms, I'd say that the final phase of his plans are now coming into motion."

"What do you mean?"

"He, as well as Kenrick and Lucien, went to Camelot and set the stage and mood for the Great Purge. They helped Uther to be as ruthless as possible and ensure as much hatred and destruction towards the Old Religion as possible from the people of your lands and the neighboring ones too."

Arthur was stumped. "How? Why?"

"From what I could understand...Camille saw that Uther's strong desire for an heir was the first link in a chain of events that could spell the doom of the Old Religion. A doom that the Thorns wanted as they were old enemies of theirs. Centuries ago, they had turned to a perversion of magic in a bid for fulfilling evil desires until those of the Old Religion fought and forced them out of the land. They swore revenge...and had the rulers of the Five Kingdoms help them secure it. At that time, the Tregors had allied with them for the secrets of everlasting life and power and worked together in working towards building an empire with as little resistance from Briton as possible." He paused for a moment as he looked at the surrounding swirls. "I have one more left. It has a bit more input into their grand scheme...and even a bit on Sir Flint too."

As another memory of Trey's started to come together, Arthur was thinking to Sir Cade's words from yesterday relating to the Thorns' plans. _You probably wouldn't have cared anyway if you didn't lose your city_. Is that what most of the Albions thought? That because now Camelot was suffering from all this too, that _**now**_ he wanted to try and make things right? That if he learned of this before, he wouldn't have cared at all?

* * *

"You're one of the Thorns?" Gwaine nearly shouted.

"Easy there drunkard," Kilgharrah said to him while slightly leering at Flint.

"Hey!" he pouted at the dragon.

"Was." Flint said hardly fazed by their shock and spat. This was known here in Albion but it was history now...to those that really knew him. "I didn't know or understand anything that was happening to me...and Camille offered me help. He explained what had happened and soon brought me to Eire to escape the Great Purge now that I was a target of it. By the time I was brought to Eire, the Thorns were only at 12. After observing my power and how fast paced my progress of control was, they brought me in and made me one of them. I was grateful to him so I accepted."

"And," Merlin said slowly. "You didn't consume souls yourself?"

"No. As I already had a soul within me, I didn't want to add more. Besides, I didn't care for magic or eternal life at all. The only thought that held any real importance for me was to pay back the ones who destroyed my life. I wanted to live until their plans for destroying Camelot came to pass...help, in revenge for what they did to me. After that, I couldn't care less if I lived or died. I didn't care for much at all."

"That's some way to live," said Gwaine commented with both sarcasm and anger.

Flint blew. "Yeah, well I had been burned alive and still lived! For what? Nothing. I was pulled into a whole new world without my permission so don't comment on things you would never understand!" Flint's right hand started to have smoke appear from it but he just glared at Gwaine.

Merlin put a hand on his chest to stop him from getting closer to Gwaine. "Flint, you have to calm down."

"I don't have to do anything!" he nearly spat at him. "He thinks he understands what's wrong with me, doesn't he? What could a Knight of Camelot possibly know about it? He never had the displeasure to actually feel jealous of the people who burned on the pyre!" He started to calm down but his breathing was still fast. "I actually envied them. Yes, envied" at their surprised looks. "Because...at least when they burned, death came to relieve them of it. I had to relive that horror and pain again and again, every single night." Tears started to form in his eyes but his tone stayed harsh. "Not to mention, that the spirit of the Pegasus within me shared the constant pain of burning as well. The fire bonded with its spirit in the most unpleasant of ways." A teardrop actually fell from his right eye. He held a hand and conjured a ball of fire in his palm. "Why do you think fire is my specialty? Because the fire from that day mixed with the magic of the Pegasus spirit within me. Its my strength...and I hated it."

Gwaine was completely speechless. He bet that if he was drunk, he would've been sobered up faster than he could've imagined. He didn't know what to say to Flint now. Leon, still hiding from their sight, truly felt for Flint's plight. He was a simple orphan trying to get by and Camelot had traumatized him in a truly horrifying way. Kilgharrah also felt sorrow for the red head plight. His heart went out to the mystic Pegasus who also shared in his suffering.

Merlin had tears in his eyes for the warrior. "I'm sorry for your suffering. You and your spirit friend. But the Thorns weren't the way to go."

"Yes...believe me, I know that now." He looked over to where his fellow Order members were still watching the sword training before them. "I once fought against Connor and the rest of the Order of the Bear when they were on Eire with the other Thorns. For years."

"Then...how did you join them?"

"...Galahad." he simply said before cheering broke out. It seemed Kalen won the spar and now everyone was clapping and cheering. "He helped me." Flint broke into claps and went over to join them all. As for them, they just silently watched him go off.

Leon, however, was watching Galahad. He saw how he went to Kalen and shook his hand and even smiled when Flint approached him. Galahad helped Flint change his ways? He then recalled something a good while ago between them.

_**Flashback**_

It was shortly after Merlin, Galahad and Kay had come to Camelot after the incident in Albion. Galahad had just finished a training skirmish against Kay. It was a little hard for the knights not to react to the use of magic in front of them, in their own grounds, especially as Kay used it against Galahad. Yet, Galahad held his own and calmly fought Kay off with the power in his blade and magic resistant armshield. Leon followed him as he went to armory after, he claimed he wanted something to help him sharpen and polish his sword.

"Galahad?" he asked when he spotted him.

"Hi Leon." he said still looking through the supplies. "How did you think of the training battle?"

"It was...different," he said after trying to desperately find a term that hopefully wasn't offensive.

Galahad didn't react to it and kept sorting through the supplies so he guessed it was a success. "Well, I hope you and your fellow knights could get used to it because Kay and I do have to stay in top form. You and the others should understand that."

"We do. I guess it will just take a little getting used to like you said. You trained like that all these years?"

"For most of them," he said before finding the varnish he was looking for. "In the war on Eire, we had to fight great opposing odds and also great opposing magic too."

"Rogue sorcerers?" Leon asked.

"A couple. Others were actually part of an army and if we wanted to live we had to learn how to fight both against it and with it."

"So," he said eying Galahad's sword. "That's why you had your sword forged into a magical weapon?"

Galahad snorted. "No. I actually had it reforged before the war. When I first became involved in Albion, I kept hearing about how great sorcerers had to let their magic become a part of them. I saw Connor, Kay and even Kalen working on trying to hone in their magic to better control and use it. I was still new to their world of magic and I really tried hard to learn as much as I could because I wanted to understand them. Though, it wasn't easy especially with what I previously felt about magic before everything. Then we rescued a smith that had been an expert in crafting magical weapons and he offered to reforge my sword."

"So you did?"

"Not at first. It was my sword. The only thing really left from my past. Then...let's just say something happened and it made everyone, even myself truly question both my loyalty and tolerance of being there. I was a former soldier of Camelot after all and Kalen especially was wary of me. I asked the smith to reforge it because I truly wanted to understand them. And...truly leave my past behind," he said as an afterthought. He then unsheathed his sword to let Leon have a better look at it. "It was hard and difficult at first, but then I started to master the changes. The magic imbedded in my sword stopped being so foreign and actually became an extension of my sword just like I learned to make my sword an extension of my hand. The smith actually told me beforehand that it was very difficult and near impossible for someone without any magic at all to master a magical weapon. But, I was starting to. It actually inspired the others in working harder. I started to feel great that I could really help them."

"Oh," said Leon.

"It's okay," said Galahad resheathing it. "You don't have to pretend to understand."

"No, I'm trying," he said quickly. "I'm trying, its just a little...hard."

"I understand. I mean, until recently, the only way you and your fellow knights thought you could best help magic users was to kill them before anything could happen if it didn't already. It's okay if you don't get it right away."

"I didn't mean any-"

"Leon," he said cutting him off. "I said it's okay. I understand it will take time. But, let me just say that anyone could kill someone on the wrong path, even in magic. It is something else to bring them to the right one, even if it seems impossible to everyone else for you to try. You find no greater glory than that." He then left with the supplies he needed, leaving Leon staring after him.

Leon was brought out of his flashback. Was Flint what he meant?

* * *

The final memory was finished and Arthur nearly flinched at the devastation of this one. They were outside a fortress but it seemed to have a few holes and smoke like it was either attacked or being attacked. There were holes in the ground and even a few bodies around, both of Tregor soldiers and of other kinds of men in Albion blue and deep Welsh green.

"What is this?" he asked Trey.

"This is the final battle against Camille a little over 10 years ago. At this point, there were only 7 of the Thorns left. An attack was launched at his personal castle that seemed effective, until Camille attacked himself. Most of his soldiers retreated but he made it clear that he didn't need them. Most of the Albion and Welsh bodies here were his doing."

"Where is everyone?" asked Elyan as he tried to spot someone.

"Well, I'm over there." They followed his finger and saw him. Trey looked closer to how he looked now though he wasn't in a soldier's garb this time. He was wearing regular commoners clothes though he did have a sword handy. He seemed a little hurt though and there was dried blood coloring his right shoulder. He wasn't alone either, Malcolm was close by him but looked tired. He had a bow in his hand and was looking up. As they looked further, they could see more of their men on the ground, alive but injured, looking up as well. "By this time, I wasn't with the Thorns or King Palin Tregor anymore. I became a deserter and was going to the south of Eire to try and get away from the war."

"Why?" asked Gwen.

"My wife. I took her to Camille, asking him if he could cure her of a disease she was suffering from. I was hoping that years of loyal service would grant me his best efforts but he came to me and said that her condition was too fatal and all he could do was end her suffering while still making her of use to the kingdom."

Arthur narrowed his eyes. "What? What did he mean by that?"

"He absorbed her soul." At their horrified looks he nodded. "Yes. Just took it and passed it off like she was doing a duty. After that, I wanted nothing to do with the crown any longer. I was already teetering on the brink of desertion by then but that pushed me off the edge. After a while, I heard about the Albions trying to launch an offensive on Camille when they learned of this fortress and volunteered my knowledge of it for their use. I even followed them to try to help even though they said I shouldn't go. I was a Deserter so I understood why they didn't actually trust me to be in the fight but that didn't stop me. Yet, Camille was more deadly a foe then they imagined. Before this, they'd never actually seen him fight. No one had, not even me when I was serving under him."

Just then there was a crash on the ground. They turned to watch the events and saw that it was Connor. He fell the ground from the air and was in obvious pain. He was older than the last vision they saw. He seemed less like that young boy and seemed more like great warrior they met a year ago. There was another crash and next to Connor was dropped the warrior with the twin swords who they saw stand up with Connor against Micah.

"Who is that?" Arthur asked.

"Oh," said Garrett putting on a sad sort of smile. "That's Sir Caleb. He was Lord Connor's best friend. He was a fallen druid that went and became a great warrior and hero. He was actually an even better swordsman than my father."

"Fallen druid?"

"It means that he turned away from their beliefs of peace and non-violence," Trey explained. "Druids don't believe in the ways of fighting and-"

His explanation stopped there as they saw Camille hover down to the scene. It looked like Connor and Caleb had been fighting with him in the air and he had dropped them down. He then vanished from his spot in the sky and reappeared in another as he shot a spell down on the ground where they saw someone in the Order get knocked away.

"That's Galahad!" Elyan shouted.

They looked and saw Galahad get blown back like he was a rag doll. He was lying on the ground and seemed to be in great pain but was still glaring up at Camille.

"Ha," he said in the sky. "Do you three fools actually think you could beat me. I know every move you are going to make before you even make it. My powers of seeing the future are so great that seeing the immediate future is easy for me at this point. I owe it all to the sorcerers who helped me."

"Help," Caleb said as he got back to his feet. "You have a funny definition for the word help Camille."

"Call it what you will you pathetic druid but the fact remains that there is nothing you could do to stop me. I can see anything you try against me. Nothing that any of you try will work. Simply put, you're all just too predictable for me."

"Too predictable huh?"

Caleb didn't falter. He raised his two swords up and flew straight for him. Camille just looked down in amusement at him. Then Caleb vanished. Everyone gasped but Camille didn't look fazed he merely dropped a bit from where he was just before Caleb reappeared to the left of him. Camille put an arm out. "_**Chwyth**_" A blast of red magical light erupted from his hand and hit Caleb were he fell again to the ground.

"Nice try but I saw what you were going to attempt." He looked out to Connor. "There is nothing you all could do. I just can't be surprised by any of you."

But then, a ball of fire shot from nowhere and hit Camille in the chest where he was drawn slightly back but stayed airborne. He dispelled it but still looked like some wind was knocked out of him. Everyone on the scene tried to look for the source of that until a shining red orange glow made itself known. It was fire and soon it fazed out revealing...

"Looks like I just did."

It was Flint.

* * *

**End of Chapter 15**

A/N: This concludes the true second chapter into the history of the Thorns and their master plan for the Purge. The next chapter will have the final holes of the plan revealed as well as Flint's turn from evil. I had some great reviews and PM's about Flint and his connection with the Thorns and I hope I both satisfied your curiosity and tempered it. Let me know what you all thought. By the way, here is a list of the Thorns' names in the order that they joined. A little treat for you all. The first six were already members of the group before the Purge even started. The ones in **bold** are the ones still alive.

Micah, Camille, **Mab**, **Angus**, Kenrick, Lucien, **Nemain**, Aaron, Oron, Judith, Ezekiel, **Dylan**, **Flint**


	16. The Thorns Grand Plan

**Dangers in the Path to Destiny**

A/N: This is the last look into the past of the Thorns and their plans with Camelot and the Great Purge. Also, we get to see Flint's fall from evil into grace.

* * *

_There is no good and evil. There is only power and those too weak to seek it_

~ Lord Voldemort, Harry Potter

* * *

Chapter 16: The Thorns Grand Plan

Flint looked completely different from the last memory they saw of him. This time he wasn't wearing the cloak of the Thorns, though he wasn't wearing the colors of the Order either. He was wearing a regular brown cloak and he seemed to be a little worse for wear. His hair was unkempt and he seemed to have dirt on him. It was as if he had been living out in a wasteland for a while.

"Flint," Connor said getting up and moving towards his friend Caleb. "What's he doing here?"

"I don't know," he said with a slight twitch from his fall. "But...it doesn't look like he's here to help Camille."

Camille didn't look happy to see him. "Flint?"

"You seem surprised," Flint said with a smirk. "I thought that nothing surprised you these days? I guess the rumors were greatly exaggerated."

At the sound of him, Camille chuckled. "My, how the unmighty have fallen even farther."

Flint didn't respond. He just hovered there and gazed back at Camille with a hard stare. The people on the ground looked surprised to see him there and it was hard to tell if it was either a good surprise or a bad one. Camille decided to break this short silence.

"You have some nerve Flint. First you desert us and now you betray us?"

"Don't. Pull. That." he said stretching each word harshly. "I know...you and the other core members of the Thorns planned and helped with the Purge."

"What?" he asked with a mocking show of surprise. "Where did you hear that?"

"Oh," Galahad had managed to get back to his feet though he still looked weak. "You and the others could thank Lucien for that. He blurted it out to everyone before he was destroyed."

"And," said Flint continuing. "I happened to be watching it and heard his confession as well. Or his gloat more like."

Camille wasn't fazed. "Last I checked, it was Uther and his men that lit the pyres, swung the axes and launched the attacks."

"But, you're the one of the ones who pointed them to who and where they could."

Camille broke into a smile and seemed to lose it as he started laughing hysterically. "So...that's why you're attacking me? Because the others and I planned for that little Purge?"

"That little Purge, ruined my life! And not just mine, but those of every one of my men!" Flint yelled.

Camille stopped laughing and actually seemed to glare back at him. "Ruined your life? What life? If anything, you should be thanking me. Look at yourself! You are one of the most powerful men in this land. Before you were imbued with magic what were you? Nothing! Just another orphaned peasant. Why you didn't even have a real name before I found you and gave you one."

Flint grit his teeth at that. Camille smirked when he saw that he got to him and then looked to all of the assembled people watching on the ground. "What about any of you Order cubs? Connor?" he said to the Beast Tamer. "You're a lord equal to the highest class of nobility surpassed only by royalty as well as a powerful magician. If not for the Purge what would you be? Just the son of a servant who talks to birds. And you Caleb?" he said to his friend beside him. "You're a powerful warrior and sorcerer worthy of an elite. If not for the Purge, you would be nothing but another druid who lived out in the outskirts of the forest like a savage."

"You would say anything to justify yourself won't you?" said Galahad in complete disgust.

Camille just looked at him in delight. "Ahh...and you Galahad. You may not be a sorcerer yourself but the Purge did you well too did it not? Why, what were you before you were touched by it? Just another faceless and disposable soldier with no real importance to anything. Now...you're a high commanding officer and have actual voice in public affairs. Even you Malcolm," he said looking down on the musician. "You were just another peasant in a village of little importance and now, you have a voice that actually has meaning and consequence. Everyone of your other prime Order members were the same. You would all be nothings if not for our work. Now, all of you have power and actual significance and you want to blame us for giving it to you?"

Arthur and the others looked like they had been slapped right in the face. How could that man talk about all of that death like he did them a favor? It was disgusting. The Thorns really were pure evil. For Arthur, Camille represented everything that he had fought against. He was the perfect example of what he and his men previously thought of sorcerers before all of this.

"You bet we do!" shouted Connor and startling Arthur. "If we had the choice, we would be glad to be nothings. I never wanted to have all this power. Believe it or not, I was happy with my life and my family. If me losing all my power and influence meant no one had to lose their loved ones, had to suffer and fear being hunted and let me keep my parents then I wouldn't hesitate at all. I'm sure, no, I know many here would agree with me." Many of the people nodded, even Malcolm and they all glared in defiance to Camille.

"Me too!" said Caleb. "Believe it or not, I actually had no qualms with living in the forest like I did. My biggest ambition was simply to be able to climb the tallest trees that were out there. If that labels me a savage to people of so called class like you Thorns and kings like Palin and Uther then feel free to call me a savage. It's better than being evil monsters."

"Call me a monster all you want. Label me as evil, it doesn't matter to me. You are nothing but naive children. Then let me tell you the most important thing all of you could learn. Good and Evil. Right and Wrong. Those are just words. It's only people of power that give them their meaning."

Connor bit the corner of his tongue. "You're sick Camille."

"Please...I'm the one actually speaking sense. After all, all of you think of me and my friends as evil and yet in Camelot we are labeled as the heroes."

"He wouldn't if he knew you or your friends have magic of the most evil kind," Caleb shot back.

"Something tells me that, in the end, he wouldn't care too much considering that we indirectly made him the strongest king of Briton. Despite the reality that we have magic ourselves, we served in Uther's best personal interests and he uses his power to define us as good. You all might be defined as good by the people of these lands yet in your homelands you are an evil to be fought and destroyed at all costs. Why? Power. Those without power may see you as good but its the ones with it that are the ones who have sight that matter in the end. They can even change it when they want. After all, Uther labeled you all as monsters to be destroyed because of your magic and/or ties to magic and decreed all of it to be destroyed. Yet, he conveniently leaves out his son in that equation. His son is a creation of magic himself but he gets to live because Uther has the power to say he does."

Everyone gave Arthur a small look but he tried not to look at any of them. Arthur's focus was split between glaring at this sorcerer and squeezing his fist as hard as he could. He really wanted to yell at this man yet he knew it was useless because this was only a memory and this man was long dead.

"Oh enough!" said Flint from where he was still in the sky. "I'm tired of hearing your speeches. I could care less about your philosophies. That doesn't change the fact that you're charcoal. As for Uther, trust me, he'll get what's coming to him but first I'll make sure you will. That all of you will for your roles in this."

"Why Flint, if I knew you would be this ungrateful then I would have bestowed your power to someone else."

This actually made Flint finally lose his vicious glare and have it replaced with confusion. "What? What are you talking about?"

"I talking about how you owe me for more than you could possibly know. It was me who made it to be so you had such great power."

Flint just rolled his eyes. "Indirectly-"

"No...more directly then you would think." he cut him off. "After all, I've seen plenty of things to come and for a long time. Over three centuries ago, Micah, Angus, Mab, Lucien, Kenrick and I were once a part of a grand group who sought true greatness of eternal youth and power. Yet, those Old Religion priests and priestesses as well as the Dragonlords and their beasts were jealous of our ambition. We struck at the people of Briton to obtain souls and power and the rulers cried to the priestesses, dragonlords, druids, and other mundane magical groups for help. A great war of magic erupted and, sad to say, we were brought down to a mere six. A little after, we were forced out. But we swore we would have our revenge and opportunity came when I saw visions of a man who would come to Camelot, conquer it and become its new king. Uther. He had a great amount of pride as well as a strong lust of power. He was also new to the land and would have no strong history or bond with the Old Religion like the other rulers did. I also saw that this man would marry a noblewoman who would be unable to bear a child. How it was handled could shape the future of Briton and the Old Religion. We formed a plan and soon joined the service of the Tregor family under Palin Tregor. He was a distant ally to the House of Pendragon and was the perfect way in. We gave him our secrets to youth and he allowed us to obtain noble status to be in prime position to enact the grandest plan ever. One he was happy to help with if it could help him soon become a grander ruler as well. After all, why be a small time king when you could be a god?"

"Changing the future is always a tricky business but I mastered the tricks. Direct action is always the mistake other seers always make but not I. I actually found the solution and went for the indirect route and influenced choices of others to lead to the changes and courses I wanted. We would have the newest king in the Five Kingdoms enact our revenge for us. His greed for an heir was insatiable and the key. So...we Thorns may have made sure a rumor reached this king of a priestess that had the power to make a barren woman bear a child. Especially after me seeing that he would lose his wife if he did. I also may have seen that he would be too proud to take responsibility and look for someone to blame so Lucien may have made a suggestion that those of magic were possibly taking him for a fool. I saw that Uther's pride would take such a suggestion a little too much to heart and develop a new belief that magic was evil in all and every one of its forms from that little thing. He would drown his sorrow, guilt and his newly beaten pride in the blood of magic users. And he would build a name for himself that would draw the other rulers in with their peoples and forget that their forefathers owed their lives to them and even taught them to respect the Old Religion. It would seem power was more important to them then respect. It always is. Our roles...we barely lifted a finger. They labeled the Great Purge as such because they say it brought peace...please, it only brought them wealth and power. We merely provided the excuse for them to pursue it. Therefore, we gave them their power and when the time comes, we and the House of Tregor will take it back with ease now that they destroyed the strongest protection they had to stop us."

Everyone on the ground took in what he said in horror and anger. Even those that didn't have magic were angry at what the Thorns had done. Flint just shook his head to not let himself lose focus. "But what did you mean about me?"

"Despite our plans of revenge and easy conquest being put in motion, when it came down to it, there were only six of us. We wanted to rebuild our group. So we needed to find those that would help us along. I saw many who had healthy lusts for personal gain and potential for power. Aaron and Oron were such two. They were already making a name for themselves bringing terror and chaos in the land of Briton. They knew what we were doing and had planned and could care less about it. They just wanted to be invincible and immortal and joined us proudly. We also made steps before and during the Purge to bring out the best and worsts of other people who weren't in that category but did have the capacity to be drawn in."

"Like...like my men and I?"

"Right. Maybe you're not so helpless after all Flint. I saw that you could be of use to us in my visions but it was necessary to influence the course of your lives to ensure that."

"What...what do you mean?"

"Maybe I credited you too soon." he said shaking his head. "How about some examples? Err...your late man Claude. He and his father were just simple food merchants that were very giving and who had magic that was the secret of a small village. They used their power to preserve the food they sold until a certain someone placed a curse on a piece of fruit in their stock knowing that it will kill a very poor villager and have his family sell out their secret for revenge and the bounty money of a magic user which would lead to the execution of Claude's father and his life on the run where he will be driven to do anything for revenge on all of the five kingdoms. Or...how about another of your men, Steven? He was already suspected of being a sorcerer by the Knights of Camelot and was under their watch. Until a certain someone cast a spell on a soldier watching him that made it seem like it came from his baby sister. Even though he tried to admit that he was the real magic user, it did little good as they believed his sister was the real one and beheaded her in front of him to begin fueling his rage and hate. All your men the same way, a little help from me to get them where they are...or were for the ones the Albions already destroyed."

Flint was breathing harder and harder with every explanation and sweat was coming down his brow but Camille didn't seem to be finished tormenting him.

"Then the best one of all...you. Yes Flint, you I saw would be the greatest one of all, power worthy of being counted as one of us. I had seen visions of you strong future hatred for Camelot and of your natural talent with power. First, to give you your power. The Pegasus that's spirit resides in you. Kenrick had hunted and stripped it of it's soul nearly 50 years ago and bottled it up. Then he made sure and traded it to that man some years later for his personal collection. Then, thanks to yours truly, I gossiped about how the man possessed magical relics to a poor man in serious debt. The kind of debt that a bounty for information from King Uther would fix. It was a tactic that was quite useful for many of my targets, to use in debt and greedy people for string things along. Though, I made sure that I gossiped to him after a certain orphan started to work in the man's shop. Then I stood back and watched the show to follow and went to collect you when it was all done. I must say that you are making me feeling a little underappreciated here..."

When he was finished, Flint's body burst into flames. He showed his teeth as he glared at Camille with fire in his eyes to match the ones surrounding him. Above him, there seemed to be a shape being molded by the fire. It almost looked like...a horse.

Just then, there was a great force and the six observers found themselves back in the Relics Room of the Academy.

"What happened?" asked Percival as he saw that they were back.

"It's over," Trey said as Garrett went to empty and put away the bowl. "What followed all that was a grand battle that ended with Flint defeating Camille...barely."

"Is that what made him become part of the Order?" asked Elyan.

"No...it was the first step to it but it took a while before both the Order and Flint could find it in themselves to trust each other. I'm sure you met the men who were with him as well? Those are the remnants of his men that were under his command back on Eire when he was a Thorn. They converted to the side of Albion as he did. Though, they still have their deep rooted" He turned to Arthur. "I just showed the parts that I thought you should know. How the Thorns used and manipulated both you and your father to conquer the Old Religion in their stead. You did ask for the truth..."

Arthur did...and right now, he almost wished he hadn't. This was getting to be a little too much for him to take. Garrett went and escorted them out.

"I don't know about you but I'm hungry. If you would like, you could join my mother and I for dinner."

Elyan froze in his tracks. "Your mother? Clara?"

"That's her. She sometimes helps train the beginning conscripts but mostly teaches basic spells in the Academy. She should be done right about now though."

Right. Galahad had mentioned to both him and Leon before that she could fight. Even occasionally beat him which he had found attractive and the two of them found amusing. He actually couldn't wait to meet her. Gwen also seemed a little eager to meet the girl who captured Galahad's heart.

"Thank you Garrett. We would be happy to accept." Gwen said before looking at the others. "Right?"

"Definitely." Elyan said nodding to both Garrett and his sister.

"I sure am hungry." said Percival.

She smiled at him before turning to Arthur. "Arthur?"

"Hmm," he said snapping himself from his stupor. "Oh...yes of course. Thank you Garrett."

* * *

Over in the King Olaf's throne room, Olaf was sitting in his throne with his daughter Vivian sitting right beside him. One of his scouts had just delivered the news that one of his prime forts had been destroyed and most of his men there were either dead or captured. He slammed his fist into the arm rest.

"Tell me this is a joke!" He snarled.

"I'm afraid not sire," the scout said as he flinched from where he was bowing on the floor. "The fort was decimated within an hour. There was little to no damage done to the enemy at all and we suffered heavy loss."

He looked over to where a pair of knights from Camelot were watching the proceedings with worn expressions on their faces. "It would seem that your warnings were warranted after all."

"Yes...the forces under King Vortigern's control are powerful. He commands not only the Vikings but dangerous and powerful sorcerers as well as an array of magical beasts that can't be slain. Apparently, only magic can hurt them."

"Unbelievable." he said standing from his throne so quickly that it nearly fell back.

"I'm afraid it's true sire," said the scout. "I saw it during the battle. Everyone brave enough to attack one of the monsters the enemy have had their swords and spears snap apart on contact. Not only that, but they were led by a sorcerer who was able to stay in the air like a bird."

"Do you know their current position?"

"They are marching straight for here. They are skipping over the villages and are only attacking posts and patrols that are nearby on their way for the castle."

He looked over to Camelot's knights. "And you say that Bayard, Odin and Alined have joined Vortigern in his conquest?"

"Yes, that is what we were told from Arthur." said one of the knights. "Arthur thought it best to send word the others as soon as possible when Camelot fell. To try and warn all of you before it was too late."

At the mention of Arthur, Vivian's shot up. "Where is Arthur? Was he harmed?"

"The king is fine my lady," the other knight reassured her.

"Oh...that's good."

The knight nodded. "He is taking what men remain and could round up and heading for the city of Albion in hopes of getting aid from their magical populace. They should have reached the city by now."

"Albion? That city of magic users? Don't get me wrong, I understand the importance of such an action but I am far from delusional. What reason could possibly have them help any of us? Until over a year ago, the discovery of their magic meant death by our own hands. Even after a year, we only had a treaty of isolation with them. They wouldn't help us."

"Arthur truly believes that they will once they learn that the sorcerers Vortigern has under his command are old enemies of theirs. Also, Vortigern himself is an enemy of the sorcerers of Albion."

"Despite that, what makes Arthur believe they will still help us. We are all still their enemies. I would expect them to just let all their enemies just destroy one another before finishing off what is left of them."

"Well, there is the king's former manservant. His quite the powerful sorcerer and has the ear of Albion's Lord Connor."

"Hmm...what kind of man is this Lord Connor?" Olaf asked. He wondered what kind of man could lead a whole city of magic.

"I'm sorry sire but I never met him personally. However, it would seem like Arthur and the knights who were with him last year seem to have a degree of respect for him."

"Well...if someone like Arthur respects him enough to actually seek his help...perhaps I can as well."

"Sire?" said one of Olaf's own knights.

"Like I said before, I am realist. If those beasts of theirs could only be stopped by magic then I won't be sending my armies into battles that they can't win. They destroyed the whole of Camelot so easily and if they can do that then our kingdom doesn't have any better chance itself."

"Then what will we do father?" asked Vivian now fidgeting in her seat.

He looked at his daughter intently before letting out a sigh. "First, I will see to your safety. Then, after I know you are safe, I will see to our men."

"What do you mean father?"

"I'm sending you off to this Albion immediately. It seems that it might be the only safe place form Vortigern and his allies. You'll have an armed escort and it will leave immediately."

"But...what about you?"

"Don't worry Vivian. I'll join you as soon as I can. First, I have to make preparations for our armies and our people."

* * *

Arthur found himself in the Lord's Manor, sitting in the eating hall with his wife and knights, waiting on dinner with Garrett. They had little trouble getting into the Manor. The guards recognized them but Garrett quickly explained that he invited them as guests for dinner. Apparently, no one was in the Manor currently. Galahad and Kay hadn't returned from their training and business in the valley and village and Malcolm was handling some business at the port behind the mountains. After a few moments of waiting, the doors opened but it wasn't dinner. In walked a strong but pretty woman.

"Mother."

"Garrett," she said in a friendly and happy tone before looking at all of them. "We have guests?"

"Yes, I invited them for dinner after we all...went through history," he added a little delicately.

"Oh, well it's nice to meet you. I'm Clara."

Arthur, Gwen, Elyan and Percival looked the woman over. So, this was Galahad's wife. She seemed a little taller than Gwen was and even seemed to be a spunky sort of woman. It became apparent that Garrett had inherited Clara's light brown hair as well as the matching eyes. She had a slight tanned complexion and her hair was straight back and came right below her shoulders. Her lips were slightly colored red and didn't seem to have any real make up on but she didn't seem to need it. She was truly beautiful.

Percival apparently thought so greatly as he stood and went to kiss her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you." he said before kissing it. "You are quite lovelier than I pictured."

"Thank you," she said a little taken aback and amused. "Though, it's fair that I warn you that I am married to someone who can be intimidating when he really wants to be."

"Don't worry," said Elyan also standing to kiss her hand. "We know. I'm Elyan."

"And I'm Guinevere," she said standing and giving her a slight hug. "Elyan is my brother. We both happen to have known Galahad since we were small children."

"Really? Yes...he mentioned you before. It's good to meet you at least."

"Yes, he's spoken of you as well. Oh, and this is my husband Arthur."

Arthur stood to meet her. She looked him over for a few seconds before giving him her hand too. "Yes...Arthur Pendragon. I've heard of you as well."

Clara didn't seem to have resentment or bitterness in her voice or gaze but she did seem a little bit intimidated by him. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he said in what he hoped was a calming and charming tone.

Just then, there was the grateful interruption of dinner finally arriving. "Ah, yes. I must say, my son does have his flair for guests."

"We are very grateful that he invited us over." said Gwen as they all sat back down.

"Well, I hope you have a good appetite." Garrett said as he got his fork and knife ready. "The food here came from crops and meat that was all grown and herded here. The magic used by the growers to harvest and preserve it keeps it as good and fresh as possible." he finished before digging in.

They ate a little silently for a while. It was broken by Garrett as he looked across the table to his mother. "Is father coming back late again?"

"I'm afraid so Garrett. There are quite a few things that he has to prepare and take care of now that Vortigern and the Thorns are now in this land."

"Just when we thought it was over," Garrett said a little grumpy.

"Don't worry son. This won't be like last time. This time, they're afraid of us, not the other way around."

"You...lived through this before," Arthur asked politely.

"...Yes," she answered softly. "I was born on Eire so I was there for the beginning of the Thorns and Tregors first bid for conquest. Back then, people were too scared to oppose them...but the Order showed us that they weren't invincible as they claimed to be. Now that the Thorns know we could stop them, they won't be as bold as they were last time."

"I hope you're right." he said turning back to his food.

"I heard about your city being destroyed. You have my sympathies. I also know what it's like when those fiends destroy your home."

"Thank you." he said softly, appreciating it. "You actually seem to be one of the few that do feel that. Though with the day I've had, I can't honestly say that's without good reason."

Gwen looked like she wanted to say something but Clara beat her to it. "Actually, I think there are more that feel this sympathy then you might think. There's just been a lot of...history between your kingdom and a good many of the people here. Perhaps I may not be the best spokesperson as I haven't lived in these lands except for a year ago but I have heard enough stories back on Eire."

"I've heard stories too," said Garrett. "But you're not what I pictured for the son of Uther. Not what I pictured for a king at that."

Arthur raised his eyes at that. "Well, thank you just the same. To be fair, your people weren't what I pictured myself."

"And," said Clara. "To be fair there are people that don't exactly give us a good name."

"That might be true." said Elyan. "But that doesn't mean any of you have to pay for it."

Arthur looked up at his brother in law. A spark suddenly ignited in Arthur's head. It stayed with him long after he returned to the camp for Camelot and didn't faze out until sleep took him that night.

That night, Arthur had the most horrifying dream yet. He found himself standing out in a field and behind him stood Camelot in all it's former glory. He could see the hustle and bustle of his people, just going about their happy lives. Arthur himself was in his royal cloak and armor with his crown shining proudly on his brow. Even the sky looked at peace. He smiled as he looked back at his city. Yet as he turned to look on ahead of it, before him the field was littered with bodies. Many of them were wearing the blue robes and cloaks of the Order of the Bear. There were also people in robes of the druids and even those dressed like regular commoners. Men, woman, children, all of them, all staring at him and Camelot with dead lights in their eyes. Amongst them, he recognized Connor, Malcolm, Kay, Flint, Galahad, Garrett, Clara and others that he had met or seen in the city. However, it looked like no one in Camelot seemed to notice all this devastation right outside their city's walls.

Arthur then looked down to his hand and found his sword coated and dripping in blood that ran all the way down to his hand. He then saw a figure in a hood slowly walking towards him. He was approaching him but Arthur couldn't see who it was. Suddenly, he found his arm raising and then jammed the sword straight into the figure's chest. The man stumbled and his hood fell back revealing Merlin. His blue eyes looked back at Arthur in shock, pain and betrayal as he fell back and remained still. Arthur cried and looked down at his sword, now with even fresher blood and he noticed strings extending from his wrist and arm. He saw that his other arm and even his legs and torso had strings and they were leading up to the sky. He looked up and saw the Thorns, even Flint though he had a corpse of himself also on the ground. Right over Arthur were Camile and the leader Micah whose hands both had some kind of puppet control that the strings were attached to. They were laughing and smiling down at Arthur and the devastation before them. Then, their eyes glowed a rainbow of colors and they looked back to Camelot and he saw it crumble and burn right before his eyes.

Suddenly he looked forward again and saw Vortigern approach him with a smile on his face. Arthur was frozen in place as he stepped up to him and snatched the crown from atop his head and placed it on his own.

"Thank you Arthur. Couldn't have done it better myself." he said before breaking into an evil cackle.

Arthur soon sat up in his bed, dripping in a cold sweat. He was breathing heavy but it started to calm when he saw that he was back in his tent with Gwen right next to him still sleeping safely. The spark that he carried from earlier returned and he stayed up the rest of the night till dawn broke, thinking something that he feels he should've thought long ago and feels ashamed he hadn't before today.

* * *

Merlin wasn't sleeping very well either. However, he had no way of knowing that or the fact that the reason was completely opposite from Arthur's. He was also up staring out the window of his room in the Lord's Manor in Albion. He had heard that Garrett had invited Arthur, Gwen, Elyan and Percival over for dinner. That was strange to him that Garrett would do that and when he talked to him he was completely thrown. Arthur had indeed come to Albion to make things right with the boy he terrorized the previous day. Arthur sought him out, asking around for him until Eli's father offered to take Arthur to him. He found him and had immediately apologized to him and even his brother for his actions and admitted that the fault was entirely on him and didn't defend what he knew was wrong.

Arthur had taken a true first step in showing real respect to people of magic as people and not just tools to call on. He resisted the urge to laugh in joy when he heard the news and settled for a big smile. During his check ins over the last year, he kept insisting to the people of Albion that Arthur would come to fully accept and respect them and grant them the freedom that they were entitled to. He met great resistance to that declaration and defended it by saying that Arthur simply needed just a little more time. It seemed that the time was truly approaching now. He just hoped that by the time it fully passes by, it won't be too late to come back and retake the peace from Vortigern and the Thorns. Now, for the first time since Camelot fell, there was true hope again.

It nearly drove out the revelations he had learned about Flint today...nearly. He briefly wondered what else there was to know of the Thorns.

* * *

**End of Chapter 16**

A/N: That's the end of the dive into the past chapters. This time, Arthur knows secrets involving the Purge and Camelot's past sins that Merlin doesn't. It seems Merlin has been the first and some cases, the only one to know them but this time the shoe is on the other foot. Let me know what you thought of the events or of Olaf's decision. When I saw King Olaf, I thought that he seemed to be an actual realistic and wise king...at the end of the episode he was in. His only real weakness seemed to be overprotection in concerns with his daughter Vivian. The next chapter will have a break from the actions and events in Albion and will focus on Vortigern and the Thorns including Mordred. Things won't spell good for the future of the land and its rulers with what comes.


	17. Rise of Wirtgernesburg

**Dangers in the Path to Destiny**

A/N: Now we move on and have a whole chapter dedicated to the evil Thorns and their king Vortigern. Also, a shout out to my most loyal reviewer IndiaMoore. You never seem to miss a chapter and I like hearing from you.

* * *

_This world is for those who are born to conquer it, not for those dream that are able to conquer it. Even if they're right_.

~Fernando Pessoa, Poems of Fernando Pessoa

* * *

Chapter 17: Rise of Wirtgernesburg

Vortigern was standing off to the fields beyond the old city limits of Camelot where most of the rubble was cleared off the city streets. He was just looking at the progress that had been made establishing the new center of this land, Wirtgernesburg. After two weeks from the battle, much of the rubble from the houses. His supply of slaves: the former knights, soldiers and guards from Arthur's army had worked from dawn to dusk in clearing out the rubble under the eyes of his Vikings and sorcerers. Mordred, especially took real pleasure in observing them and even cursing one or two of them that slightly acted out. The majority however easily bowed to the whims of their demands. He assumed that the message of seeing souls being consumed was very clear to them. Any who stepped out of bounds would be forced to watch any who were either close to them or supported them have their souls consumed by him or Mordred. They then would be traumatized and spread the word of the consequences to the others. Vortigern was smart. He knew that if he took the actual culprits, they would become martyrs. This way, the energy they took in being difficult would be converted in making sure they and everyone else were compliant instead.

The biggest form of compliance came when they were clearing the castle rubble and one had unearthed Arthur's left behind crown. As Vortigern had a crown of his own, he had no use for this one. Besides, he saw it as another symbol for his enemies within Camelot could rally under so just like the castle, he had it destroyed. He melted it down and had the metal fashioned to make a medallion with his crest and gave it to Mordred to wear it around his neck for his loyalty. That was a piece of symbolism that he felt was more fitting.

Construction of a new castle had begun in the part of the city that had sustained the least amount of damage and had the most stable ground. The rubble from both the homes, walls and castle had been magically converted to new stone blocks for building. With the use of the strong slave labor and in the magic of his sorcerers, the building of his castle was coming along remarkably fast. Currently, half the first level in the drawn plans had been built. At this rate, his whole castle would be complete within two months.

Vortigern looked at the on going construction and watched off to the sight of the former castle. A small tunnel had been unearthed and it was being used to dig into the sight of the vaults. Mordred was personally overseeing it and was adamant about reaching it even more then the other Thorns were. Claimed that there was something there that belonged with him. He wouldn't say what exactly but he did say that it was something to unquestionably tip the odds in their favor over Arthur's sorcerer friend Merlin and his dragon. Vortigern gave Mordred his support on this venture, besides, he knew that there were a number of things that could be down there that would greatly aid him that Uther and Arthur would have locked away to meaninglessly collect dust.

He looked down into the tunnel and could hear the noises from the digging and Mordred's voice giving directions. He must have gazed into the abyss for a few moments before one of his soldiers called out to him. "Sire."

He turned his eyes away. "What is it?"

"The tribute has arrived from Bayston for you."

Bayston, one of Camelot's richer towns, the place where he made those public announcements. He had his soldiers keep a presence in key towns and villages in the kingdom like Bayston though he made sure that it didn't bring an air of hostility. Things were still fragile at this state and the last thing he wanted was to tighten his grip early and have subjects seep through his hands to Arthur or the other rulers. Soon, he would have that taken cared of when he had full control of this entire land. After it was his, he would then make his hold firm when they would have nowhere to go. He imagined that his father, uncle and even his brother would be unbelievably impressed with him. He might be the youngest but he was far from the weakest.

"Excellent. Where is it?"

"It is at the foot of the camp. It is still wrapped by a cloth and the soldiers who brought it had it completely inspected."

"I can't wait...I hope it is to the standard that I asked for. I'm heading their now. Go and request for two of the knights to bring it to the throne room in the fortress."

"My king?" he asked surprised.

"Go," he ordered and the man instantly ran off.

Vortigern walked off to the foot of the camp outside the city limits to where there were a half dozen citizens waiting there with something underneath a cloth. Vortigern came into sight and they bowed their heads to him. "Rise," he said waving his hands up.

"Sire," said the one in the middle. "We've brought you the new throne for the kingdom. Our two best carpenters carved it and others helped to furnish it for you. We hope it is to your liking."

Yes, before he left Bayston, he put in an order for the town to make a tribute of a new throne. The cloth was then pulled off and his new throne was unveiled. It was carved with fine oak and the feet of the throne was lined with fine silver. The arm rest had fine gold at the ends of them and were shaped in the forms of human fists. The bottom and back rest had pale green velvet cushions. The back one had gold stitching of his crest right in the middle. All in all, it was perfect.

"Excellent. This is perfect. You've done well. You may return home and tell your townspeople that I am pleased. I never forget those that defy or please me. You are all in the right side of my memory."

"Thank you sire." he said before they were dismissed.

Soon after, the soldier he sent off returned with two of Camelot's former knights. "The men you requested sire."

"Excellent, I want you two to carry my new throne and place it into the throne room of the new castle. Thankfully it was completed and now it has a throne to go with it."

The two knights grimaced as they handled the throne and were led away by some soldiers for the castle still under construction. Vortigern cracked a smile as they were forced to take away his new throne. Now he will have the knights spread the news of his new throne and make it clear to his slaves that Camelot no longer had their castle, crown or throne. They were all being replaced one by one and lowering any morale that his slaves could've had left for Arthur Pendragon. A new message was being made clear: Camelot is gone and Wirtgernesburg was taking its place.

"Good. Thank you," he said to the soldier.

"Of course sire."

"Oh, one more thing," he said before he signaled one of his men behind this soldier. The man knocked the soldier on the back of the head and made him get knocked out. "I did say that I remember those that defy me as well as please me. Questioning my orders is an act of defiance and I don't have high tolerance for it With my soldiers, I have a no tolerance policy. Take him away and chain him up. He can make it up to me later by giving up his soul to feed my youth."

* * *

Nemain was walking gracefully at the foot of the invasion force with her ogres right behind her and Bayard's men were behind them with Bayard taking the back of them. Nemain took a look back at the Bayard's cowardly and pitiful form and rolled her eyes. Vortigern had to pair her with him. The only consolation that will come from all this was the pleasure she'll have when she ends this useless king.

That time was closer than she thought as she soon caught sight of Lord Godwyn's castle in the distance. She could make out the forms of Godwyn's troops trying to set up a strong defense. Nemain just laughed to herself. This was going to be easy. She rose into the air and went all the way back to where Bayard was.

"We're there." she said settling down at his side.

Bayard nodded. "Good. You can handle this, right?"

Of course she could handle this. She's been the one handling this from the start while he had been biting his nails. But she bit back the response that she wanted to lay down on him. "Bayard...have faith. After all, we plowed through three villages and posts with hardly any losses. Godwyn is the last person you should be worrying about. His forces won't be any match for the combined power of my ogres and your army."

Bayard glanced about his men and the giant ogres that were in the lead. The men seemed to be driven and their sights were set on Godwyn's fortress. He had never seen his men so set and fearless before. The last few days had been filled with nothing but victory. Also, this sorceress had been one of the ones who had destroyed Camelot in such an easy and simple swoop. Now, she was affording him an easy crusade into Lord Godwyn's rich lands. Nemain was right...he shouldn't worry about Godwyn's weak forces at all. He smiled as it hit him.

"You're right Nemain. Forgive me for being foolish."

"Of course I do." she said with a smile. She did just forgive him, she was thankful for it. For he was a fool for not to listen more carefully to her. Godwyn truly wasn't what he should worry about.

"Excellent. I should have the men prepare."

"Please," she cut in quickly. "Allow me the honor. I'm sure that I can rouse your men to their fullest."

Bayard looked a little taken aback but he eventually shrugged. "Very well. If that would please the Lady Nemain. You have been doing a great job and I'm sure you would make a more attractive inspiration. Go ahead."

"You sure know who to compliment a woman Bayard." she said before flying back off. "Fool," she added when she was out of his hearing range. This was the moment to further spur his men away from him and show them who really had the power here. To have the men truly see who was truly the leader and director of this victory siege. She flew to be right over the men where they could all see and hear her clearly. "Men, we are at the very doors of Godwyn's land. We've conquered his land without so much as batting an eye. It is safe to say that all over this land, you are being made out to be titans. Lord Godwyn is as we speak trembling inside his fortress in fear of what is coming for him. Now be the giants that you're being made out to be and consume your enemy!"

The army broke into cheers while the ogres roared and brought up their clubs. The echoes of which carried their way to Godwyn in his council chambers.

"They're here," he said in a whisper.

He was in the chamber with his daughter Elena, as well as his most trusted men and one of Camelot's knights: Sir Ferris.

"Father, what are we going to do," Elena asked as she caught wind of the roars from the beasts the enemy had.

Godwyn looked ot her and then to Ferris. "You say that these beasts that Bayard has can't be killed?"

"No...they can but it is truly difficult. When these ogres attacked the kingdom only two or three were killed before it fell and they have dozens of them."

"I see...then we have little chance ourselves. It will be a massacre." he said looking out to where he men were awaiting the attack from the enemy. "They'll tear through my men like twigs." He turned back to Ferris. "We're not going to be able to stop them...are we?"

"That's why Arthur dispatched us to you and the other rulers. He is currently in that magical sanctuary that was discovered last year."

"Ahh...Albion yes. He hopes to form a formal alliance with them then?"

Ferris folded his arms. "Yes though I will confess that quite a few of us are skeptical about it. Even though Vortigern and his magical allies are old enemies of theirs, the chances of them aiding any of us are very low. The sorcerers of that city aren't the type to come to our rescue."

Godwyn just nodded his head somberly. "I must say that I'm not too surprised by that. Before we were placed into that truce, we would've been drawn into war ourselves. With the chance that we will all be eliminated, they won't step in against Vortigern until after he is done with us."

"Father," said Elena. "If I may?"

Godwyn didn't seem to mind his daughter's input. "What is it Elena?"

"You can't really blame them. I mean...if you or the other rulers had heard they were in trouble, you would probably do the same thing, wouldn't you? We may not like it but we must understand it. Like you said...before the truce was made it was death on sight when it came to their people."

She didn't say it accusingly but in a matter that she was just stating a simple fact. Godwyn just exhaled. Before Elena had been born, he wasn't a strong lord. His influence was respectable but he had no real power when it came to a military. Uther rose up amongst Five Kingdoms as a powerful force, one who both conquered Camelot and then conquered magic and even the Dragons. He was one of the first to pledge his support and backed his cause to gain favor with him. The alliance that had formed made his power rise beyond anything his father or grandfather had. That favor became strong enough to even seriously consider having Elena being married off to his son Arthur. Personally, he had been neutral when it came to magic back then. If a sorcerer didn't harm him or his people then he wouldn't harm them. However, when the Great Purge started, he very easily and eagerly joined in on their eradication. Now, there was a foe that was coming to eradicate him, his daughter and his men and magic was the only hope they had to fend them off. There was no question about that but now the question was if they would have their hopes answered?

His daughter had a good point. A strong point. He couldn't blame them. "No Elena...I really can't." He eyed her for a few more moments before he raised his voice to everyone. "Please leave us. I need a private word with my daughter." The room cleared, as one by one, the men all walked out and gave a glance to both the lord and his daughter before the doors closed.

"Father?"

"Elena...I think we should take this moment and consider the reality of our situation. There is the very real chance that after today...

"No," Elena said with tears forming in her eyes. "Father don't."

He went and embraced his daughter. Pulling her into the strongest hug he could ever remember giving her. "Elena," he said pulling away from her. "Seeing you here, so strong and wise just a few moments ago, I can't help but feel how much like your mother you were more than ever. You've always rejected the standard practices of other ladies in your position...as your mother did. It was one of the things about her that I admired. She had no fear in standing out from the background like most ladies tend to find themselves. It's that kind of bravery and strength that this land will need."

"Father...what are you saying?"

"I'm sorry...but I need you to leave with some of our men and head to safety. Go and head to this Albion and to Arthur. You will need to seek their aid for us."

"But...you're coming too? Right?"

Godwyn shook his head. "I'm sorry Elena...I can't. Those people won't give ear to me and I know it is because I do not deserve it. You haven't raised a hand against them so they would help you. You deserve their help."

But Elena kept shaking her head with tears pouring down her eyes and running down her cheeks. "No, father, you're coming with me. They'll help you too. You deserve help. You're a good man."

Godwyn just smiled at her. "I'm sorry Elena. But I'm not. The said truth is that I'm...greedy and a coward. In my greed, I joined in a genocide for power and influence. Now, I can't go to Albion because if I did, I would have to face all those people who I helped bring their grief and suffering. I just can't do that. That's what makes me a coward. Besides, I need to stay and ensure that as much mercy is afforded to our people and men as possible." He hugged Elena when she crashed back into him. "Easy Elena," he said tightening his hug and kissing the back of her head. "Be safe."

* * *

The castle of Lord Godwyn was soon under siege. The ogres were sent in first and they easily took down their first line of defense. The top of the fortress had archers with crossbows but the bolts they fired irritated the ogres more then hurt them. As the ogres brought the defense down, Bayard's men charged in with great strength and confidence. They had their swords gleam as they raised them at their enemy. Nemain was amongst them and was hovering over them lending aid and command to her ogres.

"_**Heddlu Yn Ol**_" The soldiers she looked at were thrown back by an invisible force until their backs crashed on the castle walls.

As she did that, she caught the attention of the officer commanding the bowmen. "Aim for the sorceress," he commanded.

The bolts went for her but she zipped about to dodge them. She snarled as looked towards them. "_**Maglu y Meddwl**_!"

There was soon a rain of crossbows as they fell from the top of the roof and a few managed to land and incapacitate some of the soldiers on the ground. The bows in their hands had suddenly burst into flames and they threw them on impulse. The commander who commanded them to shoot at her was suddenly shot with a bolt right in his heart by one of them. What had happened was one of Nemain's illusions. The crossbows hadn't truly caught fire and that shooter thought his officer had been Nemain. She had used one of her mental trapping spells to get them to hurt themselves.

"Raise the bridges!" Shouted an officer in the castle. The castle had a gorge surrounding it that was too wide for even the ogres to get across. The men that could crossed the bridge as it was being raised.

Nemain just snorted at the attempt. "_**Torri'r Gadwyn**_!" The chains pulling the bridge up snapped and the wooden plank fell back down and recompleted the path into the castle.

"Move!" Nemain looked down and saw that Bayard seemed to be filling with new confidence with every passing minute that his forces dominated.

That coward seemed to have found a backbone...after she tore down their defense and took down the bowmen on the roof. Now when there was no real opposition was when he decided to be a king? Pathetic. But she was ready and she looked down on the ground. She found one of the bolts that was still in good condition. She twirled it around in her fingers. "_**Nod Ar Gyfer Bayard**_." The crossbow glowed with a low red light before it fazed out. "Thank you for the spell Mordred." she mumbled as she took flight again. Mordred had actually showed them this targeting spell for arrows and bolts that he made himself when he told them of his attempts over a year ago. She looked down on the lone archer who still had his crossbow. She planted the bolt by the man and started phase two. "Puny Men!" she shouted out before sending a blast on the roof that actually made a few men fall off the edge to their deaths.

There was nervous scattering afterwards. Some men ran to get off the roof while others pulled out their swords. The one left with the crossbow found the bolt on the floor and loaded his bow. He aimed for the sorceress and fired. When the bolt flew, it glew red for a second before turning in the air and went into the invading crowd. The men gave a shout when their King Bayard fell onto his back, with a crossbow bolt stuck into his chest, right into his heart.

"The king has been shot!"

"He's dead!"

"Sire!"

Nemain took that as her cue. "_**Maglu y Meddwi**_" Suddenly the archer and the men surrounding him suddenly saw one of the ogres on the roof with them. They started screaming and ran to avoid the swinging of it club and they all lost their footing at the edge of the roof or ran off it. Nemain watched in amusement when the reality was that they were running and dying from nothing. It was an illusion and to the unblinking eye it was as if they were just jumping off the roof for no reason. Oh how she loved batting around with her enemies minds.

She descended to Bayard's men next to his corpse. "Men! Don't forget that we still have a battle to finish. Would you want to disgrace both yourselves and your king? He wanted this battle to end in your victory and now you are denying his wish!" At that the men started to cease looking at their fallen king and to Nemain. "Now, why don't you go into that fortress and have the final battle your king waged end in victory!"

They roared and charged into the fortress, cutting down any of Godwyn's men inside that stood in their way.

The castle's throne room doors burst open, almost off its hinges. Godwyn and a dozen of his guards stood off towards the other end at full alert. In walked Nemain and Bayard's men right in step with her. His guards stood by him and raised their swords and spears but the sorceress just raised her hands and the weapons flew out of their hands were pointing directly down at them in the air.

"I wouldn't," she said as they went to move towards her. She just smiled and kept walking to him with the soldiers behind her smirking at them.

"Stop," Lord Godwyn said to them. "We surrender." Godwyn just stayed in his throne and looked defiant. "Who are you?" he asked as they stepped up to him.

"I am the Lady Nemain. I serve under King Vortigern. The ruler of Wirtegernesburg."

"Don't you mean Camelot?" he asked trying not to show fear.

"I'm sorry but...Camelot doesn't really exist anymore. And it seems neither does your land."

"Where is Bayard?" he asked looking around. "Surely, that spineless coward would be here. I know he would love to gloat."

"Sadly, it seems one of your bowmen struck him down. Though I am sure that he would definitely agree with me on the statement that your reign is over. Don't feel too bad Godwyn...by now Queen Annis and King Olaf should be getting the same speech from my friends."

"Does he think he can just come and take the lands for himself without opposition?"

"Think? Godwyn, in case you haven't noticed...he already is. Now, where is your daughter?"

"I don't know." he said calmly.

"Oh." Nemain said nodding her head and exposing her bottom lip. Then one of the spears came down and one of his guards screamed as it lodged into his neck and blood sprayed out on everyone close to him. "How about now?"

"I don't know!" he said again a little more nervously.

"Oh." Then a sword and struck another of his men in the heart. "Anything yet?"

"Please, they have nothing to do with this. Leave my men be. We've already surrendered." he pleaded.

"This is all on your head, or rather theirs. I will ask again and this time, the man to your right will be the next one." She smirked when the man eyed Lord Godwyn with fear and he stared at him with a matching look. "Where is your daughter Elena?"

"I...I..."

The sword above the man then came and pierced him in the neck and Godwyn was covered in the man's blood. "I believe no answer is still a wrong answer. Want to try again? How about the two men to the far left of you this time?"

One of those men burst into tears and stepped forward. "Lord Godwyn had her removed from the castle before the attack. Sent her away!"

"You fool!" he shouted at his man.

"Thank you," Nemain cut Godwyn off. "Thank you for your honesty. You apparently have more than the lord you serve. What does that say about a man who would lie to a lady on the heads of his own men Godwyn?" she said with a laugh. "You wouldn't happen to know where she was sent do you?"

"Err...no I don't."

"Godwyn," she asked. "Keep in mind what happened the last time you didn't answer my question. There are alot of men of yours that we've captured and that surrendered if we run out here."

"You're insane." he said nearly spitting.

A spear went and killed the other man in the pair leaving the squealer alive. "I hope that was worth his life. Your other man assisted me so I spared his life. He'll be left for last now and the others will be struck one by one as long as it takes." She looked to the men shivering and shaking behind Godwyn. "You could take a lesson from your fellow man. I'm not without mercy and he won mine. You could win it not just for yourselves but for your comrades as well. Godwyn obviously cares more about his daughter's life then those of the others slain in front of him...even yours. The question is, do any of you?"

* * *

Angus stuck his arm down and blood from one of Olaf's men sprayed out as if he was struck by an invisible sword. Olaf's royal city was under siege. His hippogriffs were laying waste to any of Olaf's men on the castle walls or perimeter while Alined's forces were engaging them in the city streets. Many had been captured by his hippogriffs or surrendered under the overwhelming numbers of their enemies. The attack on the city took the same fashion that the one in Camelot did. His hippogriffs carried Alined's men into the city easily over the city's walls and Angus blasted down sections of the walls to allow the main force of his army into it.

Unfortunately, Alined had missed most of the fun. At the beginning of the battle. boulders of fire began flying from the city for Alined's troops before the walls could be brought down. Angus manipulated one of them to shoot out futher than the others and land right on Alined's commanding tent post where he was roasted alive with some of his most loyal council. When that happened, the men very easily fell under Angus' command. He was the war hero who had made it so that they sustained virtually no losses before entering they city after all with his hippogriffs and he was a powerful sorcerer that could fly. It seemed foolish not to follow him. And now, the city was practically theirs already.

Angus put a hand to his throat. "_**Cynyddu fy Llais**_." He then looked out to the castle and spoke in a deafening roar. "KING OLAF! YOUR CITY IS NOW UNDER THE RULE OF KING VORTIGERN OF WIRTGERNESBURG. YOU HAVE NO CHANCE OF VICTORY. IT WOULD BE IN YOUR BEST INTEREST TO SURRENDER NOW, ALL OF YOU. THOSE THAT DO WILL BE SPARED BUT IF YOU VALUE YOUR LIVES SO LITTLE THEN FEEL FREE TO KEEP FIGHTING A LOSING BATTLE FOR A FALLEN KING."

The very roar of Angus' voice made many of the soldiers fighting in the streets drop their weapons right on the spot.

Olaf saw some of that as truth put wasn't going to just hand himself over like that and called for a retreat as he and a good many of his men fled the city from the other direction of their forces. Angus caught sight of them and smiled at their attempt to flee. The fleeing men were starting to scatter and only Angus and his hippogriffs were in pursuit while Alined's men finished securing the city. The men were splitting off into three directions but Angus went for the ones on horseback. No doubt that Olaf was among them.

"_**Bolltau Mellt**_!" Streams of lightning erupted from his palm and struck at the retreating men. Some fell from their horses and some were unfortunate enough to be struck point blank by them. "Like shooting fish in a barrel," he laughed. "Hey...that's catchy." He shot another bolt in front of one that made the man on saddle fly forward when the steed suddenly stopped. He flew off and crashed into one ahead of him. "I think I've had enough fun. He sent the command for his hippogriffs to cut off their escape and three of them landed ahead of their path and soon they were surrounded. "I would urge you not to raise a sword against them," he said hovering over these men. I haven't fed them yet and anything that startles them could make them have an early dinner. So drop your swords...now." One by one, the riders took their swords and threw them away. "Good." He then flew down to the rider that had a royal cloak on. "Ahh...King Olaf, I presume?"

The man took his cloak off and faced him. "Yes?"

Angus just glared. "You're not Olaf." It was a decoy. This man was wearing Olaf's royal robes but he knew it wasn't him. Apparently, the decoy didn't.

"I am Olaf."

"Don't take me for a fool. I've seen Olaf before and you're not him. Where is he?"

"I told you-"

Angus just snapped his fingers and a hippogriff jumped the man off his horse and began tearing into him. Angus then started to talk over the screams of that man. "Someone else want to answer me?" he said as if there wasn't someone being mauled alive close by.

* * *

Olaf was running away from his city with his troops where the lines all broke off. He was with the line that headed east. He saw that the sorcerer leading Alined's forces fly off after his riders with his hippogriffs in tow. He hoped that it bought him enough time to deter their attention. He wanted the enemy to be scattered and go after him to the west while his daughter rode east to the safety of the city of Albion. He had promised to join up with her as soon. First, he would divert their attention and also ensure that there was a strong supply of troops left to supply aid as tribute for an alliance with them against Vortigern.

He hated the fact that he had to abandon his city and kingdom to the hands of Vortigern but he knew that it was necessary. If he stayed and fought then the future of his kingdom and people would be gone. This way, there is still hope for them.

"Sire," asked one of his knights when they settled for the night. "They don't appear to have followed."

"No, they wouldn't have. They wouldn't know which way to head yet. They probably won't pick up on our trail until after they've secured the city. Right now, I can only hope that my other posts and forts received the orders I sent out for them to move to the areas I suggested to hide themselves. We'll need as many troops hidden away as possible."

"They should have them sire within a day or so."

"Good. Inform the men to rest up. I want to move out at first light." he ordered. After he was left alone he looked out to the night sky and then took his sword and struck a tree.

* * *

"My Queen, they're right behind us!" shouted Sir Calhoun.

"Stop talking and keep riding," she said as she took a moment and looked back. There was a gargoyle closing in on them.

Her castle had been overwhelmed. Odin's army stormed it and her men went to meet them accordingly. However, she never would've expected the move that followed. Those flying gargoyles came and carried many of Odin's men and dropped them on the roof of Annis' castle. Most of her men were fighting on the ground and the protection within the castle couldn't stop them. Mab and Odin were leading the crusade into the palace while the armies clashed outside it. Mab had been ahead of the gargoyles when she spotted the place to set the men but saw that there were soldiers around. "_**Bel Dan**_!" Mab blasted all of Annis soldiers off the roofs and had them fall to their deaths. After Odin and his men were dropped in, Mab had her gargoyles assist with Annis army outside. They swooped down and carried off any unfortunate soul they could. Some were taken to be shackled off in Odin's camp and others had the gargoyles chomp on them or dropped to their death.

Odin and his men cut through any soldier they met in the corridors as they made their way for Annis' throne room. It was well guarded but the men fell to Odin's blades one by one. He was dead set on his destination and Mab couldn't help but be impressed with him.

"_**Heddlu Yn Ol**_." Four of Annis' men were blown back and crashed through the window to the rocks below.

"Nice going my lady." Odin said as he struck another soldier down.

"Thank you Odin." she said as they kept going down the corridors.

They came upon the big bronze doors of Annis' throne room. Odin kicked them open and his men easily subdued the guards and knights holding up in there and held them at sword point. Their weapons flew out of their hands with another of Mab's spells and now they were at the mercy of the ones belonging to Odin's men. Odin looked around and saw that except for the guards, the room was empty.

"Where's the Queen?" he asked as he saw the empty throne.

"She must be here somewhere." Mab said looking around.

Odin went and grabbed one of the remaining knights by the throat. "Where is she?" But the knight just stared at him defiantly and didn't say anything. "Oh, I see. Mab," he said turning to her. "Blast a hole in the wall."

"What?" she asked a little confused before he looked off to the wall that he wanted. It oversaw the cliff outside. She nodded. "_**Chwyth y Wal**_!" There was a light from her hands that went and blasted a chunk of the wall and made a hole to the outside. A gust of wind suddenly blew into the room.

"I'm not a very forgiving man and so I advise you don't test my patience. Now I will ask you again. Where is Queen Annis!?" The knight still just stared at him. "Ah I see how it is." He snapped his fingers at one of his men holding another of Annis' knights with a sword at his throat and then he took the man and threw him out of the whole Mab made. His screams could be heard until they stopped when he apparently hit the ground. "Feel like talking to me now?" The knight looked out the hole where his comrade was thrown and just bared his teeth.

Mab smiled. She couldn't help but really like and respect Odin's wrath. Perhaps she could make Vortigern do so as well. "Here Odin. Maybe the man will respond to this better." She cast a levitation spell on another knight and he hovered just outside the hole.

The man was flapping his arms and legs as he looked down on the ground below in horror. "No. Help me! Please." he begged erratically.

"No," the knight said as he saw another of his friends hovering outside. "Leave him alone."

The screams and cries from his seemed to make the knight at Odin's grip start to sweat. "That's all up to you. His life is in your hands. Now, where is the Queen?" Odin focused the man's face to look on at the hovering knight still flailing and screaming. After a few seconds he just sucked on his teeth. "Drop him Mab."

"Wait!" he shouted before Mab could. "She...she's riding out. Trying to head for the city of Albion with one of Camelot's knights."

Odin and Mab caught each others eyes. "I see."

"I'll have my gargoyles fan out to find her." Mab said nodding to Odin. "Oh, one more thing." She snapped her fingers and cancelled her spell sending the man plummeting to her death.

"No!" the knight screamed as his friend's screams died. "Why!" he shouted at Mab.

"Let that serve a lesson and not try either mine or Odin's patience again." She turned to Odin's men still holding the rest hostage. "Take them away."

Odin threw the knight down. "You heard the lady men." Odin then went to sit down on the king's throne. "Comfortable," he said settling down.

"Yes, it looks quite comfortable."

"Can your gargoyles track Annis?" he said getting back on topic.

"They will do as I command them. She'll never reach that city. Even if she could, it would do her no good. They would probably kill her themselves."

"Then...let's not waste any more time. I want the pleasure of Annis' death myself. She is a close ally to Arthur and that warrants my sword across her throat."

That's what brought them to this moment. Annis had to have her men scattered as soon as the gargoyles descended upon them. She knew that they knew where to go. She hoped that the survivors would make it to that city. The only one that was with her now was Sir Calhoun from Camelot. The gargoyle chasing them was closing in and gaining on her. Calhoun saw that it was going for her and struck his sword at it's leg. It simply snapped in half but it did bring its attention to him instead of her. Annis rode off while the gargoyle carried Calhoun off by his arms for Lady Mab.

* * *

After days of digging through the rubble of Camelot's former castle, the diggers and sorcerers came upon a cavern.

"I think this is it," one of them said looking back at Mordred.

There was a an unearthed gate with a lock on it. Beyond, they could see shelves with chests and artifacts on them. Some had fallen on the floor, no doubt from the shock made from the castle's collapse.

"_**Datgloi**_." His spell made a click be heard and the gate slowly opened granting them entry. "Inform Vortigern of this at once." he said to one of them.

"Yes Lord Mordred," the man said before taking off.

Mordred dug with his men through the items he found scattered around. Through many, he could feel power resonating within them but there was one in here that he had to have back. It was the edge he needed to defeat Emrys once and for all. He walked down a dusty aisle and a glint of light caught his attention. He followed it and saw it. On a velvet cushion was a shimmering crystal that he had seen years before and now was in the palm of his hands again. The Crystal of Nealthid.

* * *

**End of Chapter 17**

A/N: I hope you liked that one. Vortigern's grip on the land seems to be coming well for himself. Now Mordred has his prize. Tell me what you guys thought of it.

_Heddlu Yn Ol_ - Force back

_Maglu y Meddwl_ - Ensnare the mind

_Torri'r Gadwyn_ - Break the chain

_Nod Ar Gyfer Bayard_ - Aim for Bayard

_Bolltau Mellt_ - Lightning bolts

_Cynyddu fy Llais_ - Heighten my voice

_Bel Dan_ - Fireball

_Chwyth y Wal_ - Blast the wall

_Datgloi_ - Unlock


	18. Fall of the Five Kingdoms

**Dangers in the Path to Destiny**

A/N: The end of Merlin is coming. It has been a great run but it will live forever through us here in . I wonder if letting Lord Odin live was a good choice. I have two scenarios in place for him to either live or die and I want to know if you guys think I should kill him or leave him alive to the end. It's going to be up to you.

* * *

_One of the first rules of science is if somebody delivers a secret weapon to you, you better use it_.

~ Herbert Simon

* * *

Chapter 18: Fall of the Five Kingdoms

The crystal glistened in Mordred's hands and he could feel the intense magic within it causing his hand to tingle. He didn't understand in full on all of the powers the Crystal of Neathid was supposed to have but he knew it was immense. Last time, Arthur had managed to take it back from him with Emrys at his side and he couldn't start his training with it. Now, there was nothing to stop him from embracing it's great power. Mordred just stared into the crystal with a smile before he thought he saw something...something inside the crystal and it...was moving.

He focused his vision and it seemed like he was seeing something, like a window showing him something beyond just this buried vault. He saw something with wings and it seemed big. It looked red and it was flying in the sky with someone in a red garment on top. He kept looking and he thought it looked kind of like a dragon. He then saw someone which looked like it was a knight of Camelot with someone in a blue cloak looking down at a woman with long hair on the ground of a grassy plain with his red dragon nuzzling what seemed to be a white dragon nearby. He couldn't see the woman but the two men seemed to and also seemed to be trying to care for her. He then saw himself in his full black robes of the Thorns with Vortigern and another king, all raising their hands to signal a charge for an army behind them.

"Mordred?"

He looked up and saw that it was Vortigern. "Sire," he said as he caught his eye and then looked back at the crystal. The images were gone.

"I see you finally got to the vaults." He walked up to him. "What's that you got there?"

"Oh, this is the Crystal of Neathid. It is a relic of great power. It is said to be many things, among them an unbeatable weapon."

"Really?" he said taking it from Mordred and looking at it. "Are you sure?"

"It may seem insignificant but I assure you that it is powerful. Only a certain select few of great magical power could even wield it. Fortunately, I am one of those few."

"Truly?" Vortigern said giving it back to him. "You are just full of surprises Mordred. So, this is what you were seeking this whole time?"

"Yes...I once had this crystal in my possession but it was lost to the Pendragons. They stole it from sorcerers and kept it here as a trophy of their triumph."

"And now it will be used to triumph over them once and for all," Vortigern finished for him. "How ironic. Well, that settles it. It's time that you receive something worthy of someone able to wield a power like this crystal."

"What do you mean?"

"Give me the crystal." he said holding out his hand with a smile. "I will have it fashioned into something for you. If Arthur and Merlin know anything of this crystal, we should make it something to be unpredictable to them and useful to us. Call it a present."

Mordred looked down to the crystal and he nodded. He handed it to Vortigern and he pocketed it. "Just be careful. The last thing we need is for it to be destroyed."

"Trust me Mordred. You won't regret this. In fact, it will be far from it."

"What now sire?" he said stepping back a little.

"You've dug to the vaults and the treasures here are at our disposable. As it turns out, there are an array of things here that I and the Thorns were hoping to get our hands on. They should be here somewhere. Let's go and plunder this place."

"After you," he said following after Vortigern, going deeper into the vaults.

* * *

People all over Olaf's kingdom could hear the clatter and metal tinkling of chains all day. All captured soldiers and knights were being led away in chains in front of everyone. Angus made a show of converting the very armor and swords that their enemies used into their chains with his magic. He felt it was the ultimate way to symbolize that their efforts were now taking them to where they were heading now, as slaves. Little by little, the presence of Olaf's men was being replaced by that of Alined's, or should Angus now say his.

With Alined dead, the men now obeyed him. His knights saw no reason not to especially under the eyes of his hippogriffs. Right now...the generals were in a tent talking in hushed tones.

"What do we do now?" asked one looking towards the flap.

"What can we do?" said another. "King Alined struck a formal alliance with Vortigern and his Thorns."

"Yes, and now he is gone and our kingdom is left without a king itself." said a third. "How convenient for them."

"What are you talking about?" asked the second. "He was killed by Olaf's bombardments. I saw it myself."

"I don't doubt that. What I meant was that Alined's last orders were to follow Angus' and now we are with him under another king."

The second nodded. "Yes, a king who had conquered Arthur's kingdom, and now helped us with Olaf's, and a good chance Annis' kingdom and Godwyn's lands." The man didn't seem to troubled. "With Alined now gone, it should be obvious where we should stand now."

"We've never been stronger," said the first one. "then we have with Vortigern and his sorcerer Angus. We were more powerful then we've ever been."

"Exactly," said the second.

"Fine, go then. If that is your choice. There is just something about all this that I don't like and I don't want to be a part of it. As soon as I can, I'm heading home, away from this madness."

"There is a new king conquering the land and dethroning all the former rulers of the land and you want to leave?"

"Just leave him," said another. "If he wants to miss out on all this new power then that's his choice. The rest of us are going with Angus and joining with King Vortigern."

As all the other knights left the tent, the one who remained just watched them leave with a scowl. "You fools," he said quietly to himself. "Can't you feel something off with that Angus? Or with the others...and even Vortigern?"

"You shouldn't blame them."

The knight looked behind him to see Angus leaning on one of the tent's pole. "You."

"Yes...me."

"What are you doing here?"

Angus' eyes glowed with an evil green light and the knight suddenly found his spine freeze up and he was as still as a statue. He couldn't move. "You my friend are such a fool. You were on the side of victory and could be on the way of being a knight of this whole land then one puny kingdom. Now...you're my lunch."

Angus then went and clamped his cheeks to get his mouth open. Angus chanted his soul absorption spell and his eyes glowed green again which drew the knight's eyes to them. They were the last conscious thing he thought on as his soul was taken.

* * *

Annis spent four days riding for Albion's location with very little rest. There were patrols of both enemy troops and creatures coming the land and sky for her. Dodging the patrols was simple, however, the flying creatures were another matter. She sometimes would have to walk her horse through rough wooden patches to avoid them and there were many close calls. She'd never pushed herself this far before. Her brow was sweating and her stomach was grumbling terribly. When she couldn't handle it anymore, she stopped her horse and then took the water skin tied to her saddle and drained the little water she had left, a few drops. She had never felt so defeated.

Just yesterday, she stopped close to one of the villages on the outskirts of her kingdom but she couldn't get any food there. There was a strong presence of Odin's men there and she didn't dare enter it especially with herself dressed the way she was. They would know who was instantly and would get captured. She watched from afar as she noticed some of the village's armed guards being rounded up in chains and placed into carts with everyone watching it in terror.

How she managed to leave the borders of her lands is beyond her but now she was just so tired and hungry that she was afraid that she might not get much farther. She wasn't as young as she once was and there was all alone. She went to her horse but it started getting a little blurry. She found her feet failing her and then black.

When she came too, she was looking up in the sky and felt something on her forehead. She felt a blanket underneath her. "What?" she tried saying.

It was enough to get a reaction from nearby. "She's awake."

"Get her some water."

There was movement and Annis suddenly saw that she was surrounded by men in armor and mail. She found a cup brought to her lips and water drenched her throat. The men helped her to sit where she was and then placed some bread and a little bit of meat to her. At the sight of the food, she almost forgot herself when she went for it.

"Thank you," she said before she bit into one.

"It's our pleasure." It was a new voice. A girl's voice.

Annis looked about and her eyes caught sight of her. "Elena!" she said staring at Lord Godwyn's daughter.

"We were riding out and we came across you and saw that you were out from being hungry and exhausted. So we brought you here and tried to treat you."

"Thank you," she said. "I...How long was I out?"

"You were us for about half a day, my lady." said one of the knights. "However, we have no idea how long you were out until we came across you."

As Annis reclaimed her strength, Elena explained to her what had happened in her land. How King Bayard's army had invaded with one of Vortigern's magical allies leading the force and taking their castle so easily.

"That was the same thing that happened in my kingdom. Lord Odin and this sorceress took down my defenses with no real trouble at all. They had these winged creatures that tore through my castle's defenses without a fight. Luckily, I had managed to sneak out of my castle right before it but I did see it from afar." Annis' eyes became a little glazed as she remembered seeing her defenses overcome so easily.

"I understand," said another of Elena's knights. "The beasts that Bayard's army had with them charged right through our men. Literally...through some of them. It was horrible."

"Lord Godwyn entrusted Elena to us and he instructed us to head for that city those sorcerers Arthur made that truce with. He hoped they will offer Elena some safety and shelter."

"Yes," Annis answered. "I was also on my way there. I was separated from my men but they know that's where I'm heading and where they would all try to get to when and if they could. One of Arthur's knights informed us of what had happened in Camelot and tried to informed me that that is where he is."

"Yes," said Elena. "One of Camelot's knights are here with us right now."

Annis looked off to the right to see the knight in Camelot's colors. "Sir Ferris your highness," he said with a bow. "I'm sure that Sir Dregan was sent your way."

"He was...but he was taken by one of those flying creatures in order to save me. I don't know if he is still alive or not."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Dregan was a friend of mine." He closed his eyes as he took in the image of his his friend. When he could he opened his eyes again. "It would be best if you came with us as we journeyed to Albion to meet up with Arthur."

"How much of Camelot's forces are left?"

"He has about a dozen knights with him as well as forty to fifty troops. That was all we could muster from our attacked posts. All of our other knights and soldiers were taken prisoner. Vortigern is using them as slave labor according to our spies."

"Now, it seems that my captured men are about to suffer the same fate."

"Same for our comrades," said one of Elena's knights. "I shudder to think what they will do to Lord Godwyn."

"Me too," Elena said repressing a shiver.

* * *

"You mean to tell me that both Olaf and Annis managed to escape you?"

The Thorns had made it back to Wirtgernesburg and were currently in the new throne room of the castle. It was still under construction but there were rooms that were ready at this point, like the throne room. At the front of the throne room was a dais that had four steps up before there was a throne in the center of it, raised up by two feet from the floor level. Vortigern was in that throne and looking down at the three standing at the foot of the dais.

"Forgive me sire." said Angus. "Olaf was lost in the chaos of retreating men. I couldn't find him. I tried to get his whereabouts from his men but after a dozen maulings, they still didn't talk. I left a few hippogriffs to scour the land of Olaf's former kingdom. However, it is yours now."

Mab bowed her head down next. "As for me, Annis, it seemed had fled her castle before Odin and I got in there. Patrols haven't picked her up yet but...I know where she is going."

"Where?"

"Albion," answered Nemain. "I managed to capture Lord Godwyn but he had sent his daughter Elena to Albion. His men told me the news after I...poked at them a bit," she said with a little smile.

"Albion?" Vortigern knew that they were trying Arthur's strategy at going to Connor for help. Yet, he wasn't too worried about them interfering at this point. However, "Mordred."

Mordred was standing off to the side and perked up at the sound of his name. "Yes Vortigern?"

"I want you to organize a party to intercept them. I don't want to reach that city. They would update them on our position in these lands and I want to limit the knowledge of our strength."

"Of course sire." he said with a bow. "I'll ready some men to keep watch in the area into that valley for them." Then he took off to ready some Vikings.

"Why stop there Vortigern? Why not just attack now?"

Vortigern just rolled his eyes. "Okay Angus, I'll explain one more time and please pay attention. I swear, you would think someone with centuries behind them would have mastered basic thinking." Angus sucked in his teeth as Mab and Nemain giggled at his expense. "Though it would pleasure me greatly to attack Albion now, we have to wait. That is the problem my father had the last time he fought against them. He put his personal feelings and frustrations towards them first over the priorities of his power and rule. That's what kept giving the Albions more allies and headway against us all those years ago. We need to stabilize my reign first before we risk weakening my forces. The Albions are no weak adversary and with the magic they have at their disposal, they would cost us many men to bring them down. I can't afford to have all my newest forces be destroyed and weakened when I still need them to enforce my rule to the new lands we've just acquired. The last thing we need is smaller rebellions fueling the fire behind Albion again. Is that clear enough for you?"

Angus just breathed in harshly. "Yes Vortigern," he said through clenched teeth. He was desperate for his revenge and he thought that giving the Albions more time was an unnecessary and costly risk despite what Vortigern thought. Didn't he see that this wasn't like the last time?

"Vortigern," said Nemain snapping him out of his thoughts. "Before that, I have a gift for you." She pulled out a sword in a sheath and presented it to him. "This is Lord Godwyn's sword. A little memento for the victory." It was one that seemed to be made of silver. A blade fit for a king.

"Thank you Nemain," he said taking the sword from her. "I have a certain project being conducted now and the silver of Godwyn's sword will be a fine component to mold into it."

"Project?" asked Mab.

"Yes, it would seem that Mordred unearthed a great crystal of magical power. I've taken it to fashion it into a weapon and some enemy steel and silver will be perfect in it's development." If the Crystal of Neathid was truly as powerful as Mordred hinted, then it would quite a weapon, especially with the other surprises that are in those vaults. "Before I forget, what did you do with Godwyn?"

"Well, after all was said and done, my energies were exhausted. I needed to refuel and...well, Lord Godwyn soul is now in the right place."

Vortigern chuckled. "Good Nemain. His daughter might have escaped but she sounds insignificant. Still, I can't have symbols running about even if they are so." He then turned to Mab. "And...speaking of running about, I hear that Odin still is."

"Yes...I know," she said not seeming nervous at all. "I actually wanted to discuss that with you. While it was necessary to eliminate Alined and Bayard."

"Bayard, who I took great pleasure in watching him die," Nemain injected.

"Odin could be useful to us in the grand scheme of things." she said as if she wasn't cut off before. "His drive for revenge makes him more easier to control then the others were in trying to achieve power. Also, it seems that out of the three of them, he actually has a brain."

Vortigern mulled it off for a second or two. "Is that the only reason?" he said with a smirk.

"Grow up Vortigern," she said not rising to his teasing. "I admire it. Simply that."

"Well...if you believe we would benefit more from his service than his demise then we'll keep Odin around. The main thing is that now, our enemies have fallen and the land will now answer to me." Vortigern leaned back into his throne and looked up to the ceiling. "Everything is coming into place. Already, near a dozen sorcerers have come and sworn allegiance to me and have joined the ranks of my army and are helping speed up the construction of my new castle. I have a strong labor force through my defeated enemies and with all the new men coming here, Wirtgernesburg will be built to be the grandest capital that this land will ever know in history. Oh, I just feel all warm and tingly inside." He then started laughing to himself.

The Thorns looked to one another in raised eyebrows. Vortigern was being a little mad in joy right now and though it wasn't the first time, it still got them to feel buzzed.

"You may go now," he said when he realized that he started to get lost in his joy.

Angus went off to find Mordred. Perhaps he could convince him to make Vortigern see his way of the situation. There was one factor that seemed to elude Vortigern about this situation. If there were rebellions, they wouldn't go into aiding the Albions because unlike on Eire, the majority of these people grew up to hunt and hate magic. They wouldn't rally behind it even if it was their only hope...no matter what their leaders thought.

* * *

Over on Eire, was a cottage by a river. In that cottage was a man named Lionel and he was currently rubbing four different colored eggs that were bigger than his head. A falcon was perched on a chair near the fireplace just watching him. He gazed out the window at Connor's Chimera Emrys who seemed to be taking a nap. A little bit aways, Connor was sitting close by, looking out into the running water of the river, his hand lightly rubbing the neck of one of the highest and rarest creatures of magic alive today.

"Madoc," he said gently. "I wish I knew what was wrong." He looked over to the dragon in question that was currently snoozing like Emrys was. "I can't understand why you've been looking and feeling out of sorts lately. I know you've been trying to tell me but until you master my language, I can do nothing about it because I can't understand yours."

Connor suddenly felt a powerful presence approaching that made him look up sharply. Emrys and Madoc apparently felt it too because they both awoke and looked up into the sky. Connor almost was ready to panic until the presence got closer and he began to recognize it.

Just then there was a pop in the sky and a figure in a dark cloak was there. He quickly descended until he feet were firmly on the ground in front of them. He had short dark hair and dark eyes and was the same age and height as Connor. Connor's eyes were momentarily drawn to the crest he wore and he smiled at the sight. His black cloak had a circle in the center of it with a design of a black phoenix with its wings out proudly and trailing black flames etched there. The figure just looked at him for a few seconds in silence before he smirked. "Come on Connor, it's been, what, seven months since we've seen each other and you don't want to give me a hug?"

"Last I checked, you hated it everytime I tried Dylan."

"Doesn't mean I want the attempts to stop." he chuckled. He then looked towards his company. "Emys, Madoc, are you happy to see me at least?"

They both yawned in his face and they went back to sleep. "I don't need to be a Beast Tamer to know what that means." he joked.

"Well, you also don't need to be one to understand the news I've just heard come in."

"What?"

"It's from Albion."

Connor's smile dropped immediately. "What? Has something happened? I only left there around two weeks ago."

"No, it's not what's happened to Albion. It's what's happened everywhere else but there."

"What?"

"It seems that Vortigern has landed in Briton and he's making his presence known with our old thorny friends."

Connor's eyes met Dylan's before he looked back at the cottage to see Lionel at the door, also in shock.

"Then, we have work to do." said Connor.

* * *

**End of Chapter 18**

A/N: Well that's the end of that one. The next chapter will have us return to Albion where it will be around a week after Arthur had seen those events and Merlin had delved into Flint's past. The news will spread to the knights and everyone takes to it differently while events happen that make Albion's leaders consider their choices and chances more carefully. Tell me what you thought of what Mordred saw.


	19. Arthur's Awakening

**Dangers in the Path to Destiny**

A/N: I first want to say a Merry Christmas to every one or at least to those that celebrate Christmas. For the rest, a happy holidays. Also, I want to say that I'm happy to see that my previous story now has over 100 reviews. I've never reached that number before.

* * *

_Ignorance has always been the weapon of tyrants; enlightenment is the salvation of the free_.

~ Bill Richardson

* * *

Chapter 19: Arthur's Awakening

The sun was shining onto the manor giving it a healthy glow that brought out its humble but impressive nature. Within, were several men of the Order speaking with Malcolm over tables full of maps and other documents.

"You sent to Travis too?" asked Kay. "And my cousin Kent? What about-"

"Relax," Malcolm said holding out his hand. "Calm down Kay. I sent messages out to everyone that I could think of on Eire."

"How long ago?" asked Kalen.

"As soon as we left Arthur's camp when we turned down his request for an alliance. I prepared the messages and they were sent off the very next day. Our friends to the south of Eire would get the news first. It should've made it to them by now. The ones further north...they'll take more time."

"And Connor?" asked Flint. "He'll be isolated since he'll be with Lionel. He'll see no reason to be in a rush to hurry back here."

Malcolm huffed. He knew Flint was right on that one and for something like this, they needed him. "I know."

Galahad clapped his hands together to draw their eyes. "Let's calm down a bit. We have no reason to panic yet. We have patrols along the borders, watching for any sign of trouble. They've given me their daily reports and so far, there has been nothing. Now, Vortigern may be as demented as the rest of his family but he's not stupid. He knows full well what we can do and won't attack until he is sure the odds will be in his favor over ours."

"How can he be sure of that though?" asked Malcolm. "He knows that we can defeat a great deal of obstacles. We've proven that time and again."

"Yes...on Eire but we haven't here. Here...we're the ones who are pushed down."

Kalen nodded a little sadly to his friend's truth. And he was going to hate to have to add more to that. "Not to mention that he publicly called for the end of the Great Purge. Though for the most part, it ended the death penalty on magic, it was still somewhat outlawed. Him lifting the ban and with obvious magic at his disposal, every sorcerer from meager to powerful will be flocking to him in gratitude and even alliance. And...not all of them will take to listening to us like last time. Last time, Palin used brutality and fear on weaker and peaceful ones which gave room for us to move in and deter them from siding with him. Yet, Vortigern is taking a different approach and offering them more than they ever could've had, despite skill levels. He can't afford to stick his nose at any of those allied with him that have magic like his father did if he hopes to strike hard at us."

"Well...that's not good news," said Kay.

"You think?" Malcolm said with a roll of his eyes. "The important thing is that we know how he'll operate in the future. It will be similar to his father but he won't do it now because everything is too unstable for Vortigern now. His family had been rulers on Eire for generations and they were corrupt, yes, but their rule for the most part was stable. Here, it's still young and he will do what he can to win the hearts of those who will win him his new world."

"Well, we'll make sure that he doesn't have that chance." said Galahad. "Recently conquered people's first acts are to be wary of the new arrivals. We've seen it ourselves. Remember when we took the first city from the Tregors during the second year of the war?"

"It would take time for him to start building allegiances. If he pushes too soon then he might make more opposition then transition," said Kalen. "Though, if he succeeds in conquering the rest of the land, the appeal for resisting him drops considerably."

"But with victories over his supposedly unbeatable forces, the appeal grows," Kay countered. "Which is why we haven't been attacked yet. He doesn't want anything to spread doubt on his premature name, especially from his new allies. The last thing he wants is to give them a reason to believe that there might be a chance that he'll be defeated especially after the seemingly easy invasion he is conducting."

"Which means we'll probably have to make the first move." Malcolm just shook his head. "It's sad. How there are people who always want to be on the side that is winning even if they despise them."

"Yes, that also happened to us...remember?" asked Flint. "With some of the northern lords who quickly tried to pledge loyalty to Albion after Caleb defeated Prince Robert."

Kalen nodded but he smiled when he did. "I remember that and I also remember that after we won the war, Connor and Lord Kent had their lands and titles stripped from them. I can still remember their horrorstruck faces when they thought they would be benefiting from being on the winning side at the end and instead lost everything."

"Speaking of the end..."started Kay. "What will be doing at the end after defeating Vortigern? This is different then what happened on Eire. We put the trust of Eire on the southern lords with us and with the heads of the celtic tribes. Now..."

"I know," said Malcolm. "We can't do that here because the opposition that Tregor is attacking are the rulers that oppressed us. And, we can't just turn the land back to them, can we?"

The five of them were silent as they thought on the new complication that had been presented. None of them could find an answer.

Then Galahad broke the silence. "Why don't we focus on defeating Vortigern's forces first. We'll worry about the future of the Five Kingdoms later. Besides, this is something that Connor should have the final say in."

* * *

The knights of Camelot were gathered in the command tent and were in the midst of a tense late night discussion. Every discussion had been tense ever since Gwaine, Leon, Percival and Elyan shared their discoveries with their comrades a week ago. This made a lot of controversy spring up from some of the older knights as well as the more newer ones. There were a lot of talks and suggestions that the Albions were lying or simply trying to justify the reason that they were refusing to help them reclaim Camelot from the older ones. Some of them had known Lucien, Kenrick and Camille personally and refused to believe that they were evil sorcerers and manipulated them and the kingdom for such evil ends. The rest of them had countered that neither were the case and the Albions had no reason to lie to them especially now when they had no real power any more. That only made them angrier and in-fighting started up between them over the following days.

Also, there was mobilization going on all through the city of Albion and the village. A few days ago, Galahad had come to the village and asked for any volunteers for fighting against Vortigern and anyone willing to fight was welcome. Trey, Eli's father, was one of the first to volunteer. By the end, there were over twenty of them that had volunteered from the village. They were taken to Albion for training. Trey, who had training behind him, was training with the guards to work on more intensive fighting practices. The knights and Camelot soldiers had spotted the Order also going into more intense training in the valley where they had found them sparring before.

Gwen was out of the camp, roaming the village looking for Arthur. Ever since Garrett had shown him Trey's memories, he'd taken to being off on his own for hours at a time. Gwen was starting to worry about him. He was now starting to show up late at night and he would even be gone before she woke in the morning. She was currently asking some of the guards at the perimeter of the village borders if they had seen him when a lot of noise was being heard up ahead.

The guards and the Order member with them turned their weapons in that direction. "Halt!" he yelled. "Identify yourselves!"

Slowly, about thirty to forty figures stepped forward with their swords also drawn. Gwen saw that they were knights under Lord Godwyn and even a few under Queen Annis. She also recognized...

"Sir Ferris?!" she cried out.

"My lady?" the knight from Camelot called out at the sight of his queen.

"Put your weapons down." Out stepped Lady Elena and she put a hand on one of her men's arms to lower his sword. "We're not here to fight. Put them away."

Annis soon stepped out. "You as well," she said to her own men. "We're not here to fight or cause trouble. We're here for their help, not aggression."

The men gave her one more look before all of them resheathed their swords but the tension with all of them. The Albions brought their swords and spears close to their bodies but still kept them in hand and ready. The member of the Order there actually resheathed his own sword.

"Who are all of you?"

Guinevere stepped forward. "It's okay. They're the Lady Elena and Queen Annis. They're friends to Camelot."

That didn't give the Albions any cause to put their weapons away at all. The magical knight just gave an empty chuckle. "Is that so? Why are you here?" he asked the two of them.

Annis stepped forward. "We came to seek Arthur's and Albion's help. Our lands were all attacked by"

"Vortigern?" he finished for her.

Annis was a little breathless from the interruption but she nodded. "Yes. It was a few days ago and-"

"Wait," he said cutting her off again. "Save it for the council." He turned to one of the Albion soldiers. "You, go to watch tower and inform Sir Kalen that we have some more guests."

"Yes sir," he said before he took off.

"Are any of your men hurt?" he asked the two ladies.

"A few," said Elena. "It's nothing too serious. We've come across one or two enemy patrols but thankfully nothing fatal."

"Still, if you are injured you could find the treatments here very effective."

"Don't worry," said Gwen seeing them all cringe at the meaning behind his words dawning on them. "We have our physician and his apprentice with us and they've helped with the treating of our men. You should come to our camp."

"Thank you Guinevere," said Annis.

The Albions parted to allow them into their land. From the village, some of the Albions froze in motion to see all the new arrivals making their way down to the spot where the people of Camelot had made their campsite.

Gwen was leading them away with Annis and Elena right behind her and with Sir Ferris at her side. "I assume that you're all hungry as well?"

"Yes," said Elena. "Our food ran out two days ago. It's risky to go into any village or town to get food right now. Things are looking pretty bad out there."

"Well, you're all safe now. There is plenty here and the Albions are willing to share what they have...provided that we don't cause them any trouble. So far, we've been able to do that somewhat."

"I'd imagine so," said Annis. "I must say, this Albion isn't what I pictured. I thought they said it was a city."

"Oh, no Annis. This is simply the outlined village under Albion's protection. The actual city is past that forest there," she said pointing to the distant tree line.

They then made it to the campsite and knights of Camelot came flocking to them. Sir Leon was the first.

"Queen Annis. Lady Elena." he said looking to each one. "Are you alright?"

"They just need a place to rest as well as food and water. Could some of you take care of that as well as warn Gaius."

"Of course," he said while some went off to see to those things.

"Has anyone seen Arthur?" she asked in particular. "He should know about this?"

* * *

Arthur was looking out into the sea at the coast just on the end of the Labyrinth of Gedref. He remembered the last time he was here. He took a test from Anhora to try and save Camelot from the curse he released upon the kingdom from killing the unicorn. How fitting that he would be here again going through another test of his mind. He had been wandering the valley trying to vent out his newest set of frustration and issues and he eventually found this place. So far, he'd only seen two or three other people wandering here like the Glassmaker's brother collecting sand. Right now he was just sitting on the shore just watching the waves as they hit the coast. He found that he was losing himself on this beach that he would always be back at the camp after nightfall and be compelled to trek back here in the dawn's early light.

He was losing himself in the waves again when he heard shuffling behind him. He looked back and saw a familiar someone in his neckerchief. "Hi Merlin."

Merlin didn't answer but just went over and took a spot next to him. "I knew I'd find you here."

"How?"

"Oh, some people mentioned seeing you here back in Albion. I figured it had to be true considering what happened here to us a few years ago."

"Yes...because of me. It seems to be a trend with me. I keep making decisions that lead my people to ruin. Especially when magic is concerned."

Merlin tore his gaze away from his friend and looked out to the water. "Arthur...it's not your fault. You're only doing what you think is right. That's all anyone could expect from you."

"Well lately my idea of what's right seems to only make things worse."

"That's not true Arthur. The ones who are making it worse for your people are Vortigern and his men. It's them, not you."

"No...it really was me, that I know for sure. With what I found out, I know that for sure. Maybe it might be better if I just stop now before things get worse."

What he found out? What was Arthur talking about? "What do you mean?"

"I'm sure you know...about what Mab meant back in Camelot. I'm sure that you were told."

Merlin was confused."Told what?"

"You don't know about what the Thorns pulled over my father?"

When Merlin shook his head, Arthur laid it all down for Merlin. Everything that he'd learned about the Thorns, the seer Camille and what he had said and even what he learned about Flint. Merlin in turn filled Arthur in on what exactly happened with Flint when he wondered how he became a Thorn then a member of the Order of the Bear. Both of them felt completely drained by the time they were done.

Merlin just chuckled and shook his head as everything rolled off of him. "I didn't realize how much history there was between all of us. Between the peoples of Camelot and Albion."

"Yes and a lot of it was made by my family and kingdom," Arthur said drawing them back to their earlier topic. "All so my father could take out his anger and self denial on someone other than himself. Yet, when he saw that Camelot's power could grow from it, he kept it up under the name of bringing peace to the kingdom. And it did...until the House of Tregor and Thorns were ready to take it without fear of any magical interference that we got rid of for them. Maybe I deserve to be dethroned. What I was given was built on a lie."

"No, Arthur don't say that. There are people out there that still believe in you despite this. You had no idea that you were being used like a puppet."

"I never seem too." Arthur stood up from the and walked a few paces towards the water. "This sure hasn't been the first time, and it started even before I became king. I was made to be one, even before I was even an idea. The Thorns were using me years before I was even born to put their plans in motion. All this tension between people with magic and without...it all sprang from me." He then turned to look down at Merlin. "I've been so short with these people for hating me and even for refusing to help my kingdom but I'm starting to see that I have no right to be. They have the right to be especially after I've made them suffer so. Even you."

Merlin got to his feet too. "Arthur...I do have magic and I am not blaming you for any of this suffering. Yes, you're right, I've suffered because of the Purge too and I'm sorry if I did anything to make you think I hold you accountable. Everything that I've been through because of my magic, it's not because of you. I want you to know that right here and now. Most of it just is, not just for me but for a lot of people here. Besides, this all isn't one sided. Many faults lie with people who have misused their powers too. The Thorns being the at the top of the list."

"Yes, but both my father and I placed everyone capable or even affiliated with magic onto that list even if they were meant to be far from it. Because of a few, everyone had to suffer. I...I think I saw the truth of that last year when we came to Albion. Seeing all these people: Connor, Kay, Flint, Galahad, Malcolm, the Druids...You...all of you with magic or even among magic under codes of honor and living for peace. It contradicted everything I came to know for most of my life and helped me see that I was wrong. Yet, I didn't want to admit it. I was too proud to."

"Arthur, it's understandable. Over twenty five years of living with that principle behind you, it wouldn't be easy to have to change it overnight."

"It doesn't make what I've or what my people and father done any less wrong Merlin. Even with the Truce, I still let it play into my decision to deny the peace that all these people really deserve. I went as far as trying to bribe them with a promise of peace to avoid devastation that we brought upon ourselves." He kicked his boot into the sand a bit. "And now, because of both my father and my blindness and pride, all those men lost in the city and others throughout the other kingdoms are with us on our own list for those to pay the price for it."

Arthur turned away from Merlin and looked back at the water. Merlin had never seen Arthur so defeated. It was like he didn't care if he died this very second. He probably would welcome it to finally be free from this. Merlin didn't like it, not one bit. He clenched his fist hard and his eyes sharpened. Before he knew it, he went over and slapped Arthur in the back of the head. "So...what do you want to do about it? Just stand here on this beach and feel sorry for yourself." Arthur rubbed the back of his head and tried to step away but Merlin just grabbed his shirt and stopped him. "Everyone is trying to hold down what is left of Camelot while you're here sulking. So things aren't easy and the truth about the past isn't what you pictured, deal with it Arthur!"

"How Merlin?" Arthur still sounded broken. "With what?" That earned him another slap to the back of the head, even harder than the last one.

"How? With the code of honor, bravery and love that you've used in the past to get back the kingdom for your people when someone feels they can just take it for themselves. With what? With all the people that are behind and will be behind you then, now and later. Gwen, Leon, Gwaine, Percival, Elyan, Tristan, Gaius,...Me, shall I go on because I'm sure I can keep listing people well into the night." Merlin's tone was harsh, but powerful. It was almost like they had a magic of their own.

A magic that seemed to stop Arthur's shaking. Arthur eyes started to shine a little as Merlin looked back at them with hard resolve. Arthur's breathing was starting to steady and his legs were ceasing to wobble. He took a deep breath and wiped his nose. "Thank you Merlin. I really needed all of that." Merlin loosened his hold on Arthur's shirt. "I realize now I have a lot to answer for in both my name and my father's but my people shouldn't be made to suffer for any of it. It's my burden to bear, not theirs."

Merlin gave him a proud smile. There...that's what he had been waiting for. Kilgharrah had told him Arthur had to admit to himself all that before magic could start to help him. Now that he has they could move into truly building the land of Albion. The true Albion. "That doesn't mean that you have to carry the burden alone Arthur. I'm sure that there are many out there who feel the need to fix what's been done too."

"We just need to get our lands back before we could really start. But Merlin...Vortigern still has forces that are invincible to all but magic. Granted, I may have you but..."

Merlin nodded. "I know...I'm not a soldier and I won't pretend to be one. You're not the only one who has made mistakes Arthur, I have too. I see that I'm here to guide and protect you, but I can't fight a war for you."

"I shouldn't have taken your offer back in Camelot so eagerly. Let's face it, you're not exactly built like me."

"You mean without a brain and overlarge ego. No, I don't believe I am," he teased with an innocent face that made Arthur just look at him like he was an idiot. It felt good. "But seriously, I shouldn't have jumped into the offer myself. Galahad did try to warn me that I had a long way to go and was far from being in true combat. I just didn't want to listen to him."

"But, I saw you during your duel with Connor." Merlin had been a powerful force then and though he fought Connor to a draw, Connor was supposedly a very strong magical warrior. "How can he say you weren't meant for it?"

"Arthur, that was a formal dueling match. Simply for fun. Not a kill or be killed fight to the death on a battlefield. Connor and I had no weapons and there were rules that we were going by. I'm sure you would agree that fights you've had in tournaments are nothing like in a real war."

Arthur nodded. "Yeah...you're right there. Hmm," he said smiling to himself. "That drag- Kilgharrah," said catching himself. "compared the art of magic to the art of the sword but I didn't want to listen. Turns out, he was more than right."

Merlin knew Arthur did speak to him but his friend had been vague on the details. "Yes, he told me you had a talk but didn't really tell me much of it. What about?"

"Oh, this and that." He then drew Excalibur from his sheath. "Particularly about this. About how you made this for me. I seem to remember you saying that history wasn't my strongpoint but I know it isn't yours either."

"Sorry Arthur," he said looking down at the blade forged in dragon's breath. "I just had to get this to you and I couldn't exactly say it is a magical sword fit for a truly great king that I forged with the help of my dragon friend now could I?"

"No...but I still appreciate just the same. This sword saved my life back at that first battle and even when we were retreating from Camelot it helped me to protect my men. Thank you Merlin."

They were silent for a moment, letting the new awkwardness hang in the air before Merlin coughed and clapped his hands together. "Right...well, back to what we were discussing before...about needing magic. Albion's Order of the Bear and their army would be the thing we need to counter that. Also, what we would need in terms of numbers in retaking everything again."

"But Albion's council."

"I think," said Merlin. "that now they might be more into forging an alliance then they were before."

"Really? What makes you say that?"

"Ask me after you're king again. Right now, we should get back to the camp. I came here originally to tell you that Gwen was looking for you all morning."

Arthur suddenly began rubbing the back of his head. "I think I can feel bumps from your hits earlier. I don't think my head can keep taking all of this," he said as they made their way into the Labyrinth to head back.

"After years of whacks that thing had took, I'm sure it can last a few more." Merlin said with a laugh.

* * *

Arthur stood from his chair with the breath taken out of him. "Both of you and Olaf as well?"

Arthur was back in his command tent with Merlin, Guinevere and his knights, all listening to Elena and Annis' news.

"Yes Arthur," Annis said from where she was sitting. "Vortigern's forces completely overwhelmed us all. Not only did his allies have creatures that were strong and immune to our defenses, but there were these sorcerers dressed up like they had thorns wrapped around them."

"The Thorns, yes, we came across them too when they attacked Camelot. At least you and your men are safe. How did you find each other?"

"Oh," said Elena taking over. "My father sent me away with our best men to come here to you. Sir Ferris had told us of you coming here to seek aid from the sorcerers here so he sent me here to meet with you. My men and I found Annis on the way here and some of her men managed to catch up with us along the way. As for my father, last I heard about him was that he was taken prisoner." Elena took a sip of water from the cup in her hands. "We also managed to learn from talking in the villages that Olaf is apparently on the run as well as his daughter Vivian. My guess is that they are also on the way here as well."

"Yes, I sent a scout to each of you to try and warn you of the coming danger from Vortigern. He made it clear that he wouldn't stop with Camelot, merely start with it. I knew it was a matter of time before he set his sights on the rest of you but I admit that I didn't think he would strike so soon."

"That's because he had the backing of Kings Alined, Bayard and Lord Odin as well." said Annis. "It turns out that Alined and Bayard died in the attacks. Their knights and armies are now pledging their loyalty to Vortigern and his new kingdom of Wirtgernesburg."

"What about Odin?" he asked. He could never forget that this man still had an agenda against him and he was the one who ordered the attack on him that ultimately ended his father's life.

"He's still alive and is still pledging his support behind Vortigern. He was the one that attacked my kingdom with the help of some of Vortigern's magical beasts."

"Well, we should inform the council in Albion to expect Olaf, or at least some of his men heading for us. Olaf's kingdom is the farthest from here so it would take more time. Let's just hope that they can make it here safely."

"What now?" asked Elena. "What do we do? Are the people here going to help us? My father told me that there might be problems with requesting their aid."

"There are some issues," answered Merlin. "Yet, have patience. Something recently has given me reason to believe that the Albion council will help you if you give them the time," he said looking straight at Arthur catching his eyes.

* * *

Olaf was currently hiding out in the forests within Lord Godwyn's former lands. He had been making some appearances in random spots to try and buy Vivian some time and cover to reach Albion without interference from Vortigern's patrols. After all, he was betting that Vortigern would assume that she was with him and if they looked like they were far from Albion then he wouldn't think to look for them on the routes there.

How wrong he was. At that moment, Mordred was marching with two patrols of Vikings and with an armada of hippogriffs, gargoyles and ogres. The creatures were compliments of Angus and he was taking heed of his advice. He would breach more closer towards Albion then Vortigern had instructed to not only catch any refugees heading for that city but maybe even destroy some of the Albions as well. Send them a message that they weren't safe at all even on their precious land.

* * *

**End of Chapter 19**

A/N: Well, that's it then. The series is officially over and I have to say I was a little let down. I would love to have seen exactly what was built from all of that but it seems that we were cheated out of it. Oh well, we still have our stories here to live through and help us all cope with everything. So far, I have one vote to keep Odin alive at the end. I won't be making the fate that befalls him come until the next story so you have until then to cast your votes.


	20. Court Proceedings

**Dangers in the Path to Destiny**

A/N: I hope all of you had a good Christmas. The new year is coming up and I hope everyone of you has fun ringing it in. This chapter will introduce another and the final member of the Knights of the Round Table that I intend to use in the stories. I hope you like him.

* * *

_A friend is one who has the same enemies as you have_

~Abraham Lincoln

* * *

Chapter 20: Court Proceedings

"Alright, come on, let's get all this loaded up already!"

Connor was helping the men load all the supplies onto the ship. Crates of armor, weapons, uniforms, tonics and other items Right now, he was on the south of Eire helping his friends load the ships to head over to Briton to deal with Vortigern Tregor. When Dylan had delivered him the news over a week ago, they took off with Lionel and headed for Lord Kent's, Kay's cousin, fortress. Lord Travis was also there as well as their knights. A few of the celts had managed to get there as well when the news reached them. The talks had been very quick and they had all been quick to reach the same conclusion. Connor could remember it clearly. It was days ago and he, Dylan and Lionel had walked in on meeting of a good many of his southern friends.

"We need to stop Vortigern now," said Travis. "It would be foolish to just wait for him to attack us here."

"I agree," said Kent. "We're still in the process of re-building the damage in the north and stabilizing order. We can't finish it only to have Vortigern come and undo it all."

Connor nodded. "Not to mention that he'll gain forces there. A king like him that actually has magic on his side. Many rogue sorcerers still hidden throughout the Five Kingdoms of Briton will be tempted to join him."

"Don't forget," said Dylan. "Vortigern would also still have Angus, Mab and Nemain with him. They would love the chance to replemish the Thorns again and with a new influx of magical allies, they would have their pick for new additions if they hadn't started already."

"Well," said one of the celts. "If you believe that is the case then it must be true. After all, if any would know how those people work, it would be you wouldn't it?" This wasn't said in an accusing tone, just a statement of fact. But it still made Dylan flinch a little.

"Unfortunately so," he said crossing his arms.

Connor wanted to steer this conversation away from past tensions and back to business so he stepped forward. "So, are we all in an agreement for engaging Vortigern in Briton?"

Votes of yes and hands were raised as well through the room. Connor was pleased to see that everyone of them agreed.

"But," Kent said when they settled back down. "What about the other rulers in Briton? Camelot may have fallen and the others may be in danger but there is still the chance that they'll see our venture into the land as an invasion of our own."

"Not if you all march in on Albion's name," said Connor. "If we or Vortigern declare war then as formal allies of Albion, you would all be allowed on the land then." He then took out a copy of the message that Malcolm had sent out. "Besides, according to this, the other rulers will have their hands full with him soon if it hasn't happened yet already. They won't have time to worry about a new force attacking Vortigern when he's attacking them."

Lionel nodded his head. "Just how big a force are we talking about here exactly? The message from Albion didn't give us a clear number."

"My guess is that it hasn't been confirmed yet. Though with warriors like the Vikings and sorcerers like the Thorns in Vortigern's side, we must not rush into anything or it could be costly." Connor knew that they had to answer seriously against Vortigern but they couldn't leave Eire defenseless either. "Also, who knows how many collaborators he has gained already with his triumph over Camelot as well?"

"What would you suggest Lord Connor?" asked one of the celts.

"Err...perhaps a half dozen batallions to help reinforce Albion's force. That should enough to hold firm and push in on Vortigern's footholds that he has established."

And that what happened. The south Welsh lords had quickly prepared three battalion and the celtic tribes had sent three batallions of their warriors to help also. Lord Kent had volunteered to come along and personally assist as well. Three great ships were getting ready to sail for the piers of Albion. They insisted that he didn't need to stay and help with these preparations and that he should return to Albion as quickly as possible. However, he said that it would be more practical to help here and he had faith that Malcolm could hold down the fort until he arrived.

Connor went to take a break and was drinking from his water skin when he was approached by someone a little younger than himself. Connor smiled at the sight of one of his celtic friends.

"Hi Bedivere. It's been a long time."

The man nodded. He was the younger brother the chief of the southern celts. Both he and his brother were firm supporters and allies since nearly the beginning. Bedivere's brother soon was made a chief of their tribe and then the high leader of the southern clans by the end of the war. They had gone back a long way. "Lord Connor, it's good to see you again. I'll be coming along in behalf of my brother."

"Really? Are you sure about that?"

"You don't have to worry about me my lord. I've been training hard ever since the war ended and I'm ready to fight against Vortigern and the Thorns."

"Your brother let you train?" He knew Bedivere's brother well and he was very protective of him. He had good reason to be as Bedivere had been captured to be a slave during the first year Albion had been fighting against the Tregors, around 15 years ago. "Is this true?"

Bedivere nodded. "Of course my lord. I'm not that same 10 year old boy that was captured by the king's forces to be slave labor. I'm grown up now and my brother has seen it. Now I'm a proud warrior ready to fight against them and make sure they don't put more children what I was going to be put through."

Connor looked Bedivere up and down. He had to admit, the boy had grown up. Many of them did. "Yes...I suppose you are. I'm happy to have you with us."

"I can't wait. Personally, I would love to see your city of Albion. I've been told it's a true beauty and it's one that I want to help you and the rest of the Order defend."

"You will soon my friend. And as my friend, you can call me Connor. I'm no lord of yours Bedivere."

"Oh I know, but you've earned the right to be addressed by me and my brother as such." He then took the skin when Connor offered it to him. "Do you think we can win?"

Connor let himself lean on the wooden pole of the dock that he was resting on. "I hope so. We may have defeated the other Tregors and most of the Thorns...but who knows what changes Vortigern and the Thorns remaining have gone through after all these years. They're also a lot smarter than the others were and bound to be more so now. Who knows what surprises they may have in store."

* * *

Vortigern was on a finished balcony of his castle looking over at all the new arrivals entering the area. Over sixty newly conquered soldiers in chains were being led to the site and were lining up below. The expressions on their faces were ranging from angry and defiant to frightened and pathetic. Surrounding this new courtyard were former soldiers of Bayard and Alined along with his Viking warriors as well as some gargoyles hovering overhead. He could also make out Nemain off to the side watching over all these men with a smug look on her face that he could see from here. Vortigern straightened his crown as he looked down at his fresh supply of slaves.

"Welcome, welcome." he shouted out to all of them.

One by one, the lines of the new arrivals were drawn by the glint from Vortigern's crown and saw him looking down upon all of them with clear authority hanging off him. Like they were all just bugs that were diminishing his view.

"Now, I'm sure that a good deal of you have heard of me by now but for those of you who hadn't, I am King Vortigern. The _**new**_ high ruler of these lands." he said stretching on the word new. "Let me first formally welcome you to the sight of the center of this grand new kingdom, Wirtgernesburg. You are here to have the honor of building a new world not just for me, but for everyone in these lands. The Five Kingdoms are now no more. It's time that all the walls dividing us all are knocked down and the pieces used to build bridges between us. Like right now, my sorcerers have converted the rubble of Camelot's former castle and houses to piece together my castle. One far grander and stronger than was ever here before. Who knows...in time, a good many of you might come to prefer my reign..._as if any of you have a choice_," he added in an undertone.

He waved them off and his soldiers moved them off for the working area. The ringing of their chains filled the air like terrible music as they dragged their feet off to the working pits to join all the captured Camelot knights and guards in their building of Vortigern's castle.

A really big and buff Viking with a whip came forward. "Here are the rules." he said fondling the whip. "You work. You listen to instructions. You behave. So simple that any idiot can do it. If you can't follow those simple rules." He raised his hand and then slammed it down. The whip came up and slashed down on a thick log hanging a little aways from him with a crack. Following that crack were quieter cracks that kept getting louder as the log split apart right in front of all the men. "Imagine what would happen to your backs," he said at the sight of a lot of gobsmacked faces. "And this is if you merely aggravate any of us. If you want to know what happens to those who really cause trouble, ask one of the Camelot men. I'm sure they can tell you all about it. Now get started."

The cold season was starting to descend on the land so the air was also thick with the breaths of all those working. The only fires that were lit were for ones that provided light. This made many of them really work hard because it was the only way to keep yourself warm as well as keep your mind off the cold. The swung hard to smooth the outer walls and kept their feet moving along to keep having their muscles give off heat. The luckier ones were the ones working on the actual interior of the new castle.

Right now, one of Camelot's former knights was talking to one of the new arrivals and being updated on what had happened.

"Unbelievable." the knight said when the man was finished. "the Five Kingdoms conquered within a month. If I didn't hear it from one of you then I wouldn't have believed it."

"It was mad...I've never been so scared."

The knight made a show of smoothing out a part of the floor for a passing pair of slave watchers before leaning closer to the man again. "Do you know anything of King Arthur?"

"Yes...he made it to that city of Albion. A knight came to Lord Godwyn's castle and explained everything. He sent the Lady Elena there to join up with him."

"Oh...that's good."

"If I don't mind asking...just how big is Vortigern planning on making this new castle of his?"

"I don't know but the slave masters are very happy to say that right now, we're not even close to half-way done yet."

The man's eyes nearly popped out.

* * *

Arthur, Merlin, Guinevere and the knights were escorting Annis, Elena and a handful of their men to Albion. They all wore their best clothes to try and present a strong front but in hindsight, Arthur perhaps thought it may have backfired. As soon as they reached the bridge into the city limits, they were given hard looks from the guards and from passerbys in the city streets. Some even full on glared at them, much like when Arthur walked down this path like this for the treaty signing. Annis and Elena hardly noticed though. They were too busy gawking at the sight of the magnificent city before them.

Annis looked about at the rich construction of the many houses and service buildings within the city. "I must say...I didn't expect it to look quite like this. It almost feels like I'm visiting another kingdom."

"Yes, I know how you feel Annis," said Arthur. "I was just as surprised as you my first time around. According to the Order, they say that everyone marvels at Albion during their first visit the same way."

"I would think so," said Elena as they passed a beautiful fountain at a cross sectionl in the road. "This wasn't what I pictured at all when I had thoughts on a place like this. Hard to believe that they built this place from scratch by magic."

"Uh, this city's construction wasn't instant," said Merlin. "They tell me that when they first arrived here that they did have temporary lodgings built but after it was secured and they truly felt safe here, they decided to work on making it a permanent place to live and grow. What you see took roughly 7 years and that was only for the basic layout. They added the spectacles and beauty gradually over the years that followed."

Elena looked about to try and see as much as she could while still keeping the steady pace for the Lord's Manor. "I would think they're quite proud of them."

"Yes," Merlin said looking at a young couple taking shade under the tree in a cross section further down the road to their right. "They all are."

They soon arrived at the gates of the Manor where they were two guards at the ready. "Yes?"

Merlin stepped forward and they both eased a little. "Arthur and his men are here to escort Queen Annis and the Lady Elena to see the council. Could you alert them please?"

"Of course Master Merlin," one of them said taking off for the house.

"Please wait here." said the other one.

Merlin nodded. "Of course."

"You say that their leader, Lord Connor isn't here?" asked Annis to Arthur.

Arthur shook his head. "No, apparently he had left the city for Eire just over a day before we managed to arrive. He claimed to have some business to attend to there and they said he would be gone for a while. The earliest time he claimed to be back was a few days ago."

"Unfortunately, there is no way he can tell of the situation here," said Merlin. "If there was, he would probably have been back by now. He probably thinks everything is fine back here."

"So, how is this Malcolm then?" she asked him.

"Malcolm...he's actually a good and caring man, I want to say that now. He just has a few...strong issues when it comes to royalty."

Arthur tried very hard to ignore the impulse to roll his eyes. Merlin wasn't helping put Annis and Elena's minds at ease with that. He should've stopped after the caring man bit. He better ease them. "It's best to tread carefully around the council, especially Malcolm. He may not have noble roots, far from them actually, but he is by no means a fool. He may not be a friend to our stations but he has the trust and loyalty of the people here and will serve to their well being."

After a few more moments, the guard returned to the gates. "Master Malcolm and Sirs Galahad and Kay are ready. You can see them now."

Malcolm was sitting in the grand hall, on the dais with Galahad and Kay on either side of him listening to everything that Queen Annis and Lady Elena had to report. The two of them were before them while Arthur, Guinevere and all the men were behind them in a semi-circle like crowd. The three were silent as they listened to both of the women tell them everything without interruption from the messages from Camelot to the actual attacks by Odin and Bayard as well as word of Alined attacking Olaf's kingdom, to their escape here.

When they were done, Malcolm straightened himself up. "It would seem that Vortigern acted a little sooner than we had anticipated. We never would've guessed that his new alliances would've made him act so bold."

"Well," said Galahad standing up from his chair. "Annis, Elena, you and your men can find shelter and security here...of course, as long as you don't cause problems for any of our people."

"We thank you for your hospitality," said Annis. "We also pray that you may help us fight off Vortigern's forces from our lands. Given your past with him, it would appear we all have a common enemy."

"Yes," said Kay. "But that doesn't necessarily mean we are allies. Truth be told, Albion and its people haven't been friends with either of your houses as well."

"Yes," said Elena looking towards Kay and causing him to drop his head a little. "I won't deny that my father's actions have little cause for us to join forces as I'm sure that Annis and her late husband have as well. However, I and I'm sure Annis also are ready to put that all behind us. With King Vortigern now in command of not only a Viking army and an array of creatures, he undoubtedly has Bayard's, Alined's and Odin's men under him as well. Also, it only a matter of time before Lot's kingdom is next on his list either by force or his choice. The truth is, this enemy is too big for any of us to handle alone."

Merlin decided to step forward towards the three of them. "You would have to admit, joining forces would increase the chances of pushing Vortigern and the Thorns out as well as minimizing the suffering and safety here. Granted, I know that you all faced similar odds before and prevailed against Vortigern's father. But it took ten years and many of your people's lives to do so."

Arthur himself stepped forward. "Malcolm, I realize that I'm the last person that should be saying anything on the well being of your people here...or be having any say in your decisions. Yet, I know how it is to have the lives of your people to be accountable for. Mine...all of our people will be made to suffer under Vortigern's rule. From what I've heard of him and his background and ambitions, that I know for certain and you all have known it for much longer than I. His grudge against you personally would earn his utter wrath. A true alliance between us all is the best hope we have of stopping the worst from befalling us."

It was Malcolm's turn to stand. "It has all been discussed for a while now between us as well as various members of the Order of the Bear. We've considered multiple options and plans to be put into play. First, I will say that Lady Elena is right, we do have many issues between us and your houses," The audience flinched. This wasn't looking well. "However...that is all between us, not the people living on your lands. They shouldn't be left to suffer because of grudges we have on you personally. All of us know that, I know that. I'm know that if Connor were here, he would know that as well. And...you've made good points, all of you. Joining forces would better our chances of stopping Vortigern from delivering the worst. That however isn't the problem that we are facing."

"What is the problem?" asked Arthur.

Galahad took over. "The problem we are facing is, should we succeed...what happens then. It should be clear that despite this need for an alliance, we all clearly don't fully trust one another. After all, just over a year ago, we've been at war with each other over our very existence. We can't be sure that, after we've stopped these madmen, that we won't get betrayed again. And I'm sure that you all don't feel sure that we won't betray you in your crippled states."

"Which," said Kay. "could cause us problems that make it too difficult to effectively work together considering that we have tactics and methods that are different from one another. So you see, it's not the thought of joining forces that's the problem...it's the possibility of it even being possible."

Malcolm nodded. "Not to mention our separate reasons. Like Galahad and Kay no doubt told you, the Order of the Bear doesn't serve kings. We will be fighting to freeing all the people from Vortigern and the Thorns' evil but no doubt you'll also be fighting to reclaim your thrones. Those we can't and won't help you to do and I'm sure that would only further back Galahad's claims of you and your men not being able to trust us and we you."

Arthur saw that Malcolm wasn't looking at him with malice for once. His eyes were narrowed at him but not in anger but with wonder. Almost like he was waiting for something from him. Was it denial? Anger? Shame? Agreement? He didn't know if he felt those things though. He just felt confused. He just stayed silent and thought about what they just said.

* * *

Vortigern was handed a chest filled with gold coins. He was currently in the dig site and the diggers had managed to dig their way from the vaults into the Pendragons old coffers as well. Now he had access to Camelot's former wealth and their collection of magical relics.

"Thank you," he said as he handed the chest over to a servant. "Place it into my new castle's treasury. The same will go for anything else found in the coffers."

"Of course sire," the servant said before taking off to fulfill his order.

Vortigern turned to one of the sorcerers working with the diggers. "What of the vaults? Any other magical relics that seem useful?"

"A few focusing medallions and charms for enhancing power as well. They should serve all your newer magical allies well." He held one of them out, it looked like a sapphire pendant in a bronze circle with runes written on the edge. "This one helps to strengthen protection spells. Could come in handy for creating protection seals for your castle. Others could also help in offensive spells and even enhance armor and shields for a good amount of your armies."

Vortigern wasn't impressed. Those charms would be helpful to weaklings but were practically useless against his real enemies. He had his Thorns who could more than promise what this man said. "What about in the matter of magical weapons? I know for a fact that Uther took quite a few powerful weapons and relics from the Bloodguard when he destroyed them. Any sign of them?"

"Well...not quite yet sire. They might've been kept deeper into the vaults because of that value."

"And you're standing here telling me this instead of digging for them...why?"

They didn't need to be told twice as they scurried off to continue with the digging. Vortigern clenched his fist. He wanted those weapons, especially now. With them, he would have the edge he needed to defeat both the Order of the Bear and Merlin's dragon. However there was also a certain device that Uther also stole from them that he was hoping to come across. One that would allow him to defeat Merlin without much of a fight. He heard the stories Mordred told him about Emrys and he would be a fool if he didn't take it seriously.

He made his way out of the dig site to find that Nemain was waiting for him. "Sire," she said when he emerged.

"Nemain, what is it?"

"I have news. First, Mab sent a message. She and Odin captured a faction of Annis' escaped men who were trying to rally support from the people in Carleon. They're being sent here to add to your slave supply."

"Good...good, walk with me." he said taking off for his castle. "What about the people in Carleon? Have all of Annis' banners been replaced with mine?"

"Mab mentioned that most of them burned and replaced with yours. Soon the whole kingdom will be within the week."

"That's what I want to hear. However, there's still no telling how far the insurgency that those men set up has spread. I need a constant presence to keep my power in that area set." He pondered for a moment before he thought back to Mab's advice. "Send Mab a return message Nemain. Tell her that Odin and her are to stay and solidify our grip on Annis' former kingdom."

"Of course Vortigern." she said with a nod. "I'll scry to her immediately."

"Good. It turns out that she was right. Perhaps Odin will be more useful alive then dead unlike Bayard and Alined. Anything else?"

"Just one more, it's about Essitir. We received reports that a messenger of King Lot's crossed the border and he's on his way to see you. He should be here within two days."

"I am not surprised. Lot would know that at this point, he can either count himself as an enemy or an ally. I see he already seems to have more brains than his predecessor Cenred. Send out an alert along the routes, I want them clear and safe for the passage. I want Lot to be given the right impression of what he could gain from my friendship."

"Yes...what's the situation in the dig site? Did you find what you're looking for?"

Vortigern shook his head. "No. Mordred found what he wanted but I haven't yet."

"You're jealous?"

"Don't be silly Nemain. I was just pointing out a fact."

"Sure you were." she said sounding amused.

"You're close to blasphemy." he said looking at her at the corner of his eye. "I merely meant that Mordred's plans for defeating Arthur with Merlin can be set in motion now with the Crystal of Neathid while without that special device my uncle once told me about..."

Nemain stopped talking but she still looked a little amused. "We'll find it and when you do, you'll be a king forevermore."

"I better be," Vortigern said as he stomped off. "It's still too early for that to be a real possibility and I'll feel better when those diggers find it already. Especially with Albion now knowing I'm here. I don't want to confront them until I have what I want first."

Nemain was left watching him go off. "Of course not." _Unless they strike first but they shouldn't have a reason to now._

* * *

Kalen was just hovering in the air in the woods just a little beyond the borders, getting some good air. He had been in the grand hall overseeing it with a good many others in the Order. Emotions had been high towards the end and many were glad when it was over two days ago. Arthur, Annis and Elena had told them that they needed more time, a few days to think and discuss it amongst themselves. Malcolm also said the same thing for himself, Kay and Galahad. Though they also said that Connor word was still the final one. Personally, Kalen thought that Malcolm was happy about that. He wanted to make the wise and best choice but he was still angry with all these royals who were at their doorstep...especially King Arthur.

He was looking down at his men with these thoughts when he caught movement at the corner of his eyes. He turned his head and saw shapes in the sky. He first thought it might just be birds before he saw that they were too big for those. Then he saw a blast release smoke in the land ahead. The kind that a blasting spell releases and no magical Albion is treading out of the borders with Vortigern out there.

He lowered himself down to his troops. "Someone send an alert. Men move," he said pointing in the direction of the explosion before he zoomed off and unsheathed his sword. As he got closer he could sense the echo of the evil power of soul charged magic meaning that a Thorn had to be behind this. He wondered which one it was.

Vivian and her knights kept running as hard as they could. They had been so close to Albion's borders and all the tension seemed to be at an end, that was until they were ambushed by some Vikings and other men. It seemed like they would be able to handle them...until the creatures showed up with a sorcerer in a cloak wrapped in Thorns.

"_**Chwth o Dan**_" Behind the lady, a part of the ground combusted and she was thrown with a few of her men a few feet away. "Lady Vivian, a pleasure to meet you." he said as a dozen men emerged behind him. Also two ogres, three gargoyles and three hippogriffs hovered overhead. "I hope you won't mind me escorting your back to Wirtgernesburg. It may not be complete yet but it is a becoming sight."

"You won't lay a hand on the Lady Vivian." said one of her knights.

Mordred merely scoffed at him. "Really?"

"Yes!" At that, all of her men drew their swords and turned to face them. They did outnumber them 3 to 1 even with those creatures at his side.

"You think I'm worried?" he said as he stared at all. "Let me show you why I'm not." He turned to his men. "Stay back and just watch the show." The Vikings and the creatures just stayed back and observed. Mordred smiled and walked up closer to them.

"Fine, then you can go first sorcerer." That knight along with three men charged Mordred at once but he didn't flinch.

"Four, fine." He extended his arms out. "_**Trosi I Fetel!**_" He looked at his velvet thorn patterns decorating his cloak and they flew off like snakes and went for the chests of his attackers. For a moment, they wondered how velvet would be stopping them until the four started coughing blood. The knight looked down at his chest to see that what was at his chest wasn't a strip of velvet but a spike of metal. It pieced his chest and went through to his heart. Mordred retracted his hands and the metal thorns flew to wrap around his cloak and reverted back to velvet decorations. The four knights dropped dead when the metal left their chests. "Next?"

Vivian looked at the bodies of her men in horror and looked at Mordred to see the blood of her men dripping from his shoulders and arms and legs from where the blood stuck to those thorns. "Everyone run!" screamed Vivian.

At that, all the men moved to try to make it to Albion but Mordred was on their tale. "Where are you going? Aren't we having fun?" He focused his sight on Vivian. "_**Rhwymo yn y Ddaear**_."

Vivian was running off when suddenly the stone popped up from the ground around her and surrounded her and tightened around her. It was like she was stuck in a stone anthill and she couldn't move. "Help!" Some men saw her in trouble and started whacking at the rock with their fists and swords to try and break her free.

"Sorry, they can't help you." Mordred said slowly walking for them.

"_**Dorri ar Wahan**_!" The sudden shout was followed by the Vivian's rock tomb cracking until it was reduced to pebbles and she was free.

"What?!" Mordred said in surprise.

"Who are you?"

The knights and Lady Vivian along with Mordred and his forces looked ahead and saw Sir Kalen hovering slightly with over a half dozen Albion soldiers staring them all down.

* * *

**End of Chapter 20**

A/N: That's the end of this chapter. I hope you liked the first look into the next and final knight of the round table that I'm bringing in. I also know that Malcolm may seem like a sour apple about all this but he does have his reasons. He is aknowledging that they are starting to try and open up to letting them have their freedom and respect but he feels that if he does give them especially Arthur any leeway then it would be a betrayal to those that were lost because of the purge. Arthur especially for an event that we do all know about but don't realize that Malcolm and another had significance with it. The next chapter will have Mordred's battle with the Order and that assault will be taken into Albion's territory and a meeting between him and Merlin and Arthur. There's also another big surprise at the end. Have a happy new year!

_Chwth o Dan_ - Fire blast

_Trosi I Fetel_ - Convert to metal

_Rhwymo yn y Ddaear_ - Bind in earth

_Dorri ar Wahan_ - Break apart


	21. Mordred's Assault

**Dangers in the Path to Destiny**

A/N: Well, the first chapter of the new year. I hope all of you had a good start and I hope the rest of the story will be great in kicking if off. This chapter is ready with a lot of action and magic. Along with a long list of spells which as usual is at the bottom. Also, the quote I found, I am happy for because it brings out the true focus on not only this chapter but for the whole story. Enjoy.

* * *

_Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success_.

~ Henry Ford

* * *

Chapter 21: Mordred's Assault

Arthur was with Guinevere, Merlin and Gaius in his tent at the camp. Queen Annis and Lady Elena were now set in their camp and their men were sharing with some of Camelot's men. Gaius had tended to their men but was happy to see that none of them were seriously hurt. Many just needed minimal treatment and a few days of rest. Right now, the four of them were discussing their current predicament. The thing that was on the front of their minds was Malcolm and his words.

"One thing I will say about Malcolm" said Gwen. "He's blunt and to the point."

Gaius nodded and thought back to the meeting. "I'm surprised that he would even voice not only the issue of them trusting us but us trusting them as well like that."

"Yes," Merlin said nodding his head. "From what Galahad and Kay have told me of him, he's always is. He insists that when he is asked for the truth and when there are talks like these, he delivers what needs to be said...even if it earns him a smack."

"You would know about that wouldn't you Merlin?" Arthur said with a small smile. There was many a time where he wanted to smack Merlin for his lip even though Arthur would know he was right.

"Only because the ones I tell the truth to can never handle it," he said with a smirk of his own. "However, Malcolm did say the issue that is on all of our minds. We do need each other to defeat Vortigern's growing forces but the problem is trusting each other."

"As much as Malcolm has scorned me," said Arthur. "he has always been honest and doesn't dance around the issue. Unlike other lords that I've seen, even if they hated me or my kingdom they always had smiles on their faces and did what they could to help themselves. However, Malcolm didn't immediately agree on joining forces because he has the safety of the people in his care to consider. I can see that he's someone that wouldn't do anything to double-cross anyone. He might make things more difficult for us but I can't help but respect him."

Gwen looked out of the tent's flap and caught sight of one of Annis' men. "Yet, I don't think Annis or Elena would share in that Arthur. Unlike us, they haven't really dealt with being here in Albion's land with sorcerers being free to use their magic. Especially with what just happened in their lands where magic was used to defeat their armies."

Gaius looked at her a little sadly before he turned to Arthur. "Eli has been telling me that he's heard some talk going around from the village and in the city. A good many of the people in the city are concerned that our presence here may actually lower the safety of their soldiers as we might insist that they can't fight to their full power. Apparently, the use of magic is a key part of their army before, during and after their battles."

"Why would they say that?" asked Merlin.

"Well, it seems that a few people have caught some of us watching as the Order trains with their magic or magical weapons and they could see the tension and expressions of disgust every time and they believe that it might make us cause problems for them when the fighting starts even if we don't join forces."

"Isn't that what Malcolm was talking about back at the meeting?" asked Gwen. "That they had their own way of doing things and it would bring out issues. So this is what he meant."

"He sure didn't hold back when he listed all the problems we would be having. He must've seen ahead of time what issues would be brought up and laid them all out for us all to think about." Arthur rubbed his eyes. "I realize that quite a few of my men are not exactly happy about turning to Albion for help but it seems that they are now starting to destroying the chance of getting their help now."

"Then you have to talk to them Arthur," Merlin said staring them down. "Let them know that what they're doing is hurting their chances of getting Camelot back."

"I know." he huffed. Arthur went and stared at his shoes. He never had a problem with his knights that were like this before. A small squabble here and there but nothing of this magnitude. He'd prided himself with the fact that he was always able to work well with his knights since he was a child. The idea of laying his foot down on a good many of them, especially in these times, wasn't an appealing idea. Yet, he can't have them destroying any chance of allying with Albion.

Suddenly, there was a bell sounding outside, in the direction of the village. The four of them went out of the tent and looked to the village. They could make out some hustle and bustle while the bell on their watchtower rang.

"That's the village's warning bell. What's happening?" asked Merlin.

As the warning bell rang, Arthur felt it could only be one thing. He ran off to rally his knights with Merlin, Gwen and Gaius right behind him.

* * *

Kalen recognized the insignia worn by these knights and soldiers, they belonged to King Olaf. He guessed that the woman they were defending must be his daughter, the Lady Vivian. When he saw her trapped in that rock trap, he didn't hesitate to free her from it. As his spell freed her, he looked up and saw a Thorn...but it wasn't Mab, Nemain or Angus. It was a young man, maybe 18 or so but Kalen could practically feel the rush of evil coming off of him. It felt just like the other Thorns using the energy of stolen souls.

"Who are you?" he asked the stranger.

Mordred clenched his teeth at the sight of the clearly powerful sorcerer. That trap he sprung on Vivian wasn't an easy one to break. "I am Mordred and I will say, you must be quite the powerful sorcerer to break through one of my traps."

"I'm Kalen, and if those robes are any indication then you're a new addition to the Brotherhood of the Thorn."

"Yes, and I'm also King Vortigern's new right hand."

"Congratulations," Kalen said with none in his tone. "I'm sure that the others must've told you about me...and if they told you anything true then you would be running for your life right now."

Mordred hardly flinched; he just snorted in disbelief. "Please...I've heard of you alright and there is only one sorcerer in these lands that I will take seriously and you're not him."

Kalen lowered himself down until he feet were firmly back on the ground. "Looks like I'll have to add myself to your list." He brought his wing shaped blade out on Mordred.

Mordred brought his own sword out. While this man may not have Emrys' power, he would be a fool if he didn't take a high ranking member of the Order of the Bear seriously. The other Thorns told him enough of what happened when they were underestimated even when they were sure that they were weak. "Can't add dead men to a list," he said drawing his own sword which had been neglected until now.

As Mordred was distracted by Kalen, Lady Vivian and her men started to move away from all of them slowly and with the least bit attention. It seemed to be working until a there was a energy blast fired right in front of them freezing them in their tracks. Mordred had fired it, hoping to hit Vivian but Kalen saw it coming and managed to deflect it slightly for it to avoid hitting them.

"I'm your opponent, not them."

Vivian chanced a glance at the mysterious sorcerer and she couldn't help but feel a tingle travel up her spine looking at his hard but...handsome face. She saw that he wore the crest and colors of Albion that she heard so much about.

"My lady," one of her men said urging her to keep moving.

They kept moving forward before they stopped at the sight of more people in the same colors of the sorcerer that just stepped in. For a moment, they were tense, about to prepare to defend themselves from them now before they realized that they were pointing their weapons and attention to their previous attackers.

Kalen noticed them and their predicament. "Stay back," he ordered. "Watch them. Leave me to deal with this new Thorn."

"Yes," said Mordred. "Let's give the Lady Vivian a show." He said before clearing his mind and focusing on his new opponent. "_**Chwyth Tan**_!" His pale blue eyes glowed blue followed by a red blast heading for Kalen.

"_**Chwyth Mellt**_!" Kalen answered with a blast of his own.

They collided and made a small explosion followed that caused a thin blanket of dust surround them.

While Mordred used the smoke as a cover. "_**Gwinwydd yn Tyfu ac yn Lapio fy Gelyn**_!" The surrounding tree limbs seemed move in Kalen's direction and soon vines with thorns erupted from them and seemed to wrap around Kalen's arms, legs and torso to bind him down.

The smoke cleared up and everyone saw Kalen struggling under the pressure of the vine bindings. He couldn't move his hand holding his sword. The vines squeezed on him and the thorns started to pierce his arm making him loosen his grip on his sword and drop it. His men's eyes widened at the sight of his trouble but Kalen's eyes were filled with focus.

"He's in trouble!" Vivian said as he saw the magical knight in trouble. She started to move towards them but her men restrained her.

"No my lady. You'll only get hurt."

One of the Albions approached them. "You all have to get behind the border. Sir Kalen won't be able to use his full power if he's worrying about this many people close by."

Mordred twirled his sword with glee. "Too tight?" asked Mordred with a sneer as he saw Kalen struggle.

"_**Torri a Rhyddhau i mi**_!" he said through clenched teeth. The vines snapped apart into pieces, free Kalen. He didn't lose a beat when the blood rushed in his arms and legs again. He looked at the broken thorns. "_**Hedfan am fy Gelyn**_!" The vine pieces flew off for Mordred.

He moved his head to avoid a piece but he cheek was grazed by a thorn on it leaving a small thin cut. Mordred kept jumping and dodging the sharp vines flying for him. While he was Kalen picked back up his sword and let the feeling fully return to his limbs. His eyes kept the gold glow as he controlled the pieces of sharp vines flying at Mordred like a swarm of bees.

Mordred swiped at a big piece but as it split apart a smaller piece grazed below his wrist. He had enough of this party trick. "_**Llosgi i Lludw**_!" The flying pieces all caught fire and burned to ashes. "Cute trick but not good enough."

"Then how about this," he said before making a swipe of his sword. "_**Taro**_!" A wave of magical energy went for Mordred.

"_**Rhwystr, Amsugno'r Effaith**_!" A transparent dome encased Mordred and absorbed the hit. His barrier gained color and he smiled as his spell was charged. "_**Dychewelyd y Chwyth**_!" The dome molded into a sphere in front of Mordred before it became a blast of power that went right for Kalen.

Kalen stepped back in surprise before his eyes glowed and he flew up to dodge it. The blast went off and hit the base of a tall tree and made it start to fall in Kalen's direction. He maneuvered himself away from it's path and it hit the ground with a giant thump. After rising above the trees, Kalen looked down at Mordred. This new Thorn was a lot stronger than he would've first thought. Despite his young age, his power was strong. He also seemed to have great skill and was well trained. He now understood how this Mordred became a member of the Thorns. However, it seemed like he had the advantage in the air. Powerful as he was, he didn't seem to know have been taught how to fly yet by the others and was grounded.

Another spell was on the tip of his lips when something collided with his back. Kalen was shot away and hit the ground and rolled a little before he was stopped by a tree. He looked up and through the spots in his vision saw another figure that made his stomach drop.

"Kalen, what do you think of my new friend and student?"

Kalen got to his feet but pain shot from side that forced him on a knee. He glared at the new arrival through his pain. "Angus."

* * *

Lady Vivian and her men followed their escort through the trees until they reached a clearing and came upon a row of stones set up like fence posts.

"Up ahead, you'll find a campsite set up. King Arthur, Queen Annis and the Lady Elena are there with their men. You can stay there." the man said pointing them the way.

"Thank you-"

"Just go," the Albion said cutting her off. He then took off for the village at breakneck speed.

"Well, that was rude," one of her knights said watching him go off.

"They may be in a crisis but they could at least have some degree of manners," Vivian said nodding her head with the knight. "Let's go and find Arthur."

They went off to where the soldier pointed them to and found a large campsite set up. There was a lot of activity going on as men were heading into a very large tent in the center. They could just make out a Knight of Camelot running from it, in full armor for another large tent in the camp.

Right before, Arthur was briefing his knights as his servant Gale was fastening his armor on for him as quickly as possible.

"The Albions in the village are starting to mobilize. That means that Vortigern is probably starting on attacking this area sooner than we could've expected."

All of Camelot's knights were in Arthur's main tent listening to his new instructions. Most had their armor on and those that didn't were rushing.

"Sire," said Ferris. "Shouldn't we alert Annis and Elena's men to get ready as well?"

"Yes, go on to them Ferris." he ordered. "They should be told to be ready to defend themselves if the battle gets out of hand."

Ferris ran out leaving everyone else to finish getting ready. Arthur armplate was fastened and that finished the last bit. "Thank you Gale."

"Sire," he said before stepping off to the side.

Arthur was about to start addressing his men when suddenly a woman and a few armored men came bumbling inside making everyone tense up. They almost pulled their swords on them before they saw the colors they were wearing.

"Lady Vivian?"

"Arthur," she said looking at him with a warm smile that had a hint of affection.

Merlin cringed a little from where he stood as he remembered the last time he saw the Lady Vivian. It seemed like there was still a little affection left lingering from Trickler's love spell though now it seemed like it was harmless now.

"Vivian, what's happening," Arthur said bringing Merlin's thoughts back here.

"We were attacked." she explained.

"Here?"

"Right outside the border of this place." said one of her men. "We were ambushed by some Viking warriors with this sorcerer that had thorned vines decorating his cloak."

"Are you alright?" he asked looking Vivian and the men over.

"We...we lost four of our men to them. He killed the four of them himself. This sorcerer almost took Vivian too but then this other sorcerer flew in, actually flew, and started fighting him. Had armor and that bear symbol on his robe."

"Was this sorcerer in the thorns beaten?"

"No, it's still going on."

Arthur looked back at Merlin for a second before turning to Gwen. "Guinevere."

She didn't need him to go on. "Vivian, may you and your men follow me?"

"Thank you." she said gratefully.

"Now," he said looking to his men. "From what I can tell from all of this, it looks like Vortigern's Thorns are attacking now."

* * *

The Albion soldier ran off for the watchtower as soon as he left Vivian and her men to find Camelot's campsite. A Thorn was close by and he had to alert as much of the Order as possible about this. He saw that there was already alot of activity going on which means that Sir Kalen's order to alert the village had been followed correctly. He made it to the tower to find Sir Flint, Sir Kay and there were four others in the Order there along with over a dozen soldiers.

"Sirs," he said as he came up to them.

"What's going on soldier?" asked Flint when he caught sight of him.

"It seems the Lady Vivian has finally arrived here like you all expected. However, there was an attack a little behind the border. Sir Kalen is engaging a member of the Thorns in the woods close by."

Kay gripped the sword hanging off his belt tightly. "How many are there with him?"

"Only about six. But they have some creatures with them too."

Kay pointed to a nearby soldier that happened to be Trey. "See to getting the men here mobilized."

Trey nodded. "Yes sir."

"And have a messenger send word to Malcolm and Galahad that the Lady Vivian has arrived and we're engaging their pursuers."

"I will," Trey said again with a bow.

"Let's move," Flint said before he and two others took off into the air for the woods with Kay and all the others in hot pursuit on foot.

Flint and two of his friends flew as fast as they could for the trees where he could make out some dust clouds rising. It must be some fight going on and he hoped that Kalen was on the right side of it.

"_**Taro**_!" Kalen swiped his sword in Angus' direction to let out a blast from it. It quickly went for him but another blast crashed into it.

He looked over and saw Mordred with his hand out in the direction of his blast before he turned on Kalen. "_**Chwth Ynni**_!"

He released another blast for Kalen and he was ready to try and intercept it when about seven separate blasts collided with it and made it faze out. Mordred was taken aback and looked behind him and Kalen turned to see his men with their weapons out and pointed straight at him still with glows on them.

Mordred glared at them. "Meddling pests," he shrieked.

"Two against one deserves our meddling," said one of them tightening his hold on his enchanted spear.

"Thank you boys," Kalen said getting his footing back.

Angus descended from the sky until he was at Mordred's side. "If your men wanted to avoid being statues they could've just said so." He flicked his wrist and the creatures and Vikings went for them.

"Ready men!" Kalen shouted as they went off to meet the opposition. He would've joined them but he couldn't take his eyes off Angus or Mordred. Angus seemed as strong as ever and this new one, Mordred, was a powerful foe. He could hear his men engaging now.

"Not going to help your men?" Angus asked with a sneer.

Kalen's eyes just narrowed at him. "I have faith in my men. I know they can fight and handle themselves. They can do what they need to do so I can do what I need to do."

"What, die?" he said opening and closing his fist at his side. "Do you honestly think you can handle us both?" He looked over at Mordred. "You can't even handle Mordred here? By the way, how have you been finding his skill. He's been a real fast learner. Eager too." Angus gripped Mordred's shoulder and Mordred looked happy at the praise.

"Who knew you were capable of such fatherly pride," Kalen said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Well then, how about another bit of father/son bonding? By tearing you apart?"

Mordred leered at Kalen before his eyes darted out at a hint of light. "_**Darian Ddod a Diogelu ni**_!" A transparent semi-circle appeared in front of them as a giant fireball came for the pair of them. It struck the shield he conjured. Mordred clenched his teeth as he tried to repel the force of this attack until it finally fazed out and left Mordred slightly breathless.

A glowing shape flew in for the scene and the glow vanished and they saw Flint left behind. Right behind him were two others who went and went for the beasts and Vikings attacking their men. There was some hollering as some more of their men came from the trees and helped come to the rescue.

"Hello Angus," Flint said flying down to be in step with Kalen.

"Flint," he said putting on a clearly false look of happiness. "It's been so long. We must catch up some time."

A red aura started to surround Flint. "Yes, I was thinking about roasting you on a spit. Don't worry, your little friend there is more than welcome to join you."

Mordred looked like he wanted to move at Flint but Angus held a hand to halt him. "I see you haven't lost your charm after all these years."

"Only when it involves you and the others."

"You mean when it involves us."

"Not anymore," Flint said defiantly. "I've moved on to bigger and better things."

This only made Angus snort. "Please...you put on this whole noble and righteous man act. But deep down, you will always be one of us."

"Don't flatter yourself," Kalen said in defense of his comrade. "He's one of us, not one of you anymore."

"You sure? After all, we were sure when he was with us. How can you tell that he won't turn on any of you?"

"Because unlike you, they don't use me." Flint said as embers seemed to flare up over his hair. "They actually care about both my welfrare and my soul."

"So do we," said Angus. "I care about making sure that that strong soul and the one of your other half are put to good use when we take them."

"Well," he said drawing his weapons. Two thin battle hatchets. "Let's see if you and your new partner there can when it two on two."

"You won't get past us now."

Mordred just stared blankly at them. He couldn't see an opening in these two to take advantage of. From the looks of it, neither could Angus. Though, stalling for time fell well in place for their plan. And is on cue, a giant pillar of light shot into the sky behind all of them.

The light attracted Kalen and Flint's eyes. The pillar of light vanished but it was soon followed by multiple ones shooting up one after another. "Those are the intruder warning signs." said Flint.

"A lot of intruders." said Kalen.

Angus smiled at them. "It looks like our main force is ready to do some sight seeing in your valley. Too bad, much of your primary defense is here dealing with us."

Kalen eyes widened as he looked back towards the direction of their territory. "This was a trap."

"Damn it," Flint said before just through caution to the wind and charged at them with Kalen behind him.

* * *

"If an invasion of the valley is commencing then we will go and meet it."

The knights all seemed to be hesistant after that. Leon stepped forward. "Arthur, the last time we fought against them, we were barely able to defend ourselves. Our attacks were useless."

"Yes...against the Thorns' creatures. However, against their soldiers we can still fight. It would take time before the main force of Albion's army arrives from the city. We can handle Vortigern's Vikings and the other soldiers he has on his side while the Albions contend with his magical forces."

Leon nodded. "Where should we ready ourselves?"

"We'll go to the border before the woods. Try to keep any of their soldiers from getting too close to the village or the camp."

"Sire," said one of his other knights. "Wouldn't it make more sense to just set up a defense line before the camp. The village has their own soldiers to protect it."

"Just a basic contingent of men for patrols. Many of the others are still fresh recruits and they won't be able to hold against enemies like the Vikings for long. We have more experience so it makes more sense to set up a defense that protects all of us."

"They can worry for their own villagers. They have the protection of their magic and magical warriors." said a second knight. "That should be more than enough."

Merlin's narrowed at the knight's ignorance and arrogance. "It doesn't work like that."

Merlin's statement was ignored as another knight went to back the former one up. "He's right sire, we should be more concerned with our own people. Besides, how will we know that we can trust them on the field?"

"He has a point sire," said another one. "They could easily use the chaos of the battle to make it seem accidental to get us out of their hair."

Arthur was starting to lose his patience. The attack was going on right now, they didn't have time for this and they had to move quickly. "Who else feels like this?" he asked of his knights. About eight of them raised their hands in support of what the fellow knights just pointed out. "I see." he said looking at each of them. "Merlin, come here."

"Arthur?" he said stepping up to him. Arthur gestured for him to get closer to him as he whispered something to him. "What?"

"Can you do it or not?"

"Yes, I know one that would help."

"Good, then do it."

Merlin looked at the knights and back at him. "You sure?"

"Yes Merlin," he said gesturing to the knights who raised their hands. "Now."

Merlin breathed in and then out and focused on them. "_**Trawsnewid eu Hesgidiau I Garreg**_." His eyes glowed and so did those knights' legs. When the glow vanished, their boots and foot plates were now solid stone trapping them in place.

"What have you done?" shouted one of them at the sight of his feet.

"You just cursed us!" shouted another.

Arthur shouted for silence from them. "Merlin only did what I told him to. I need my men to listen to me especially now. I had us come here to form an alliance and I can't have any of my men do anything that would hinder that so you all could stay here and think about that. Believe me, if we were back in Camelot I wouldn't have asked Merlin to do this. I would've just thrown all of you in the cells to wait it out and this was the next best thing. You could refuse to help in defending the Albions fight here instead."

Gwaine chuckled as they kept struggling to move. "Nice spell Merlin. I like it." he said earning him glares from those knights.

"Now, let's move," Arthur said stepping out of the tent with the rest of his knights right behind him.

They all gathered the rest of the soldiers and headed for the border of the valley that marked the beginning of the Albion territory. It soon came into sight when suddenly a giant light shot up into the sky.

"What was that?" asked Tristan.

Merlin followed the light as it climbed. "It's an alert. It signals when intruders come within the border of the valley."

A signal? Arthur was intrigued. "What do you mean Merlin?"

"Remember that line of stones we passed when we came into Albion's lands? Those are part of a magical defense that was set up to prevent ambushes and surprise attacks. If someone enters the perimeter without permission of an Albion guard or Order member than it well send out that signal to reveal their location so they could respond quickly. They're bright and high to alert the patrols beyond the border, the watchtower in the village and even the city."

Arthur spent barely two seconds actually admiring the idea behind that kind of magic before more pillars of light shot up, one after the other. "So if there are multiple lights shooting up-"

"Then there are alot of people coming in without permission." Merlin finished. "In that direction." he pointed from where they shot up from."

"Then let's not sit here and stare at the lights. Let's go." he shouted before taking off with his men hot on his trail. They hurried in the direction that the intruders set off the alarm and could make out shapes of many men running for the village with weapons held high.

* * *

Connor was leaning off the side of the ship as the docks behind the city of Albion came into view. "We're nearly there." he said to Lionel.

"Good," he said now starting to loosen his grip on the railing. "I've had enough of being on this ship."

"Not sea worthy, are you Lionel?"

"Not very." he said biting back an urge to gag. "I can be on land, even in the air but on the sea...I'm not built for that."

Connor looked over at Madoc who was resting just a little bit away. "Madoc doesn't have a problem with it though being that its his first time sailing."

"He's a dragon. Land, Sea, Air, it doesn't matter to them. I wish the same could be said for the Keeper of the Dragons but sadly not." he said leaning over the side.

"Don't worry, we'll be docked and on solid ground in under an hour. Then you could also see Albion with your own eyes."

For the first time in their entire trip, Lionel's eyes brightened. "I've heard nothing but good things from the others that have visited. I can't wait to see the place that has gotten such good compliments."

"We'll be happy to have you my friend."

Suddenly, a small wailing dragged his attention away from his seasick friend. He looked around and saw that Madoc was awake and was getting worked up. Lionel seemed to panic at his behavior.

"Madoc?" said Lionel with concern. Suddenly Madoc growled and brought his wings out. He then took off into the air and flew for the direction of Albion. "Madoc! Come back here!" But the dragon didn't relent and flapped his wings harder and headed for the land faster. "What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know," Connor said as he looked at Madoc's form get smaller. "But I'm going to find out." He turned to the captain. "Stay on course." he ordered. He then took off after the young dragon and flew after him.

"Connor." Lionel yelled after him. He looked around frantically and his eyes locked onto the Chimera Emrys. "Emrys," he said running to him. "We have to go after them."

Emrys leaned down to let Lionel climb on him but someone climbed onto Emrys right behind him. It was Bedivere. "Let's not waste time," he said settling in.

Emrys took off for the sky after them and, from his own ship, Dylan made them out and flew after them himself.

* * *

Trey was helping all the recruits get themselves suited up and lined up to set a secondary defense line. They were in the middle of their preparations when the alert lights shot up, startling them.

"What the?" he said to himself before more lights followed.

"How?" asked one of the soldiers.

"No...get yourselves ready," Trey yelled. The men already set drew their weapons and made a line in front of the village.

Suddenly they caught sight of men charging for them, about 50 of them. Most of them had funny looking helmets that seemed to have horns at the sides. Trey guessed that they were the Vikings that his son had told him about that had attacked Camelot. Behind the men, right above them were a dozen gargoyles flying for them as well and they had spears in their claws.

The men with the magical spears readied and aimed. "_**Taro**_" they shouted together. Blasts erupted from the spears and went for the creatures but they evaded the blasts.

"Hold your fire...they're too far away."

They stood their ground and soon the gargoyles arrived first and they worked together to parry their claws and spears as they struck at them. Soon more of the recruits, that had finished changing and getting ready ran to help them engage the creatures. Trey parried a strike from a spear from one of the gargoyles when he caught sight of those soldiers closing in. He knew they wouldn't be able to handle both the creatures and the soldiers with many of their best men in the village off engaging the first set of attackers in the woods beyond the perimeter. He was prepared to be the first to engage them. His son was behind him, at their house and he would die before he let any of these scum get their hands on him.

The Vikings grew excited as they neared the Albions fighting off the gargoyles before a sea of red closed in on them. They had the colors of Camelot and saw King Arthur and his knights in the front running at them with their swords at the ready. They turned just in time to start exchanging blows with them and Trey watched as Arthur and his men fought against these men to help them defend their village and the city of Albion beyond. He smiled as he went to rejoin his fellow Albions in fighting the gargoyles.

* * *

Mordred deflected another fireball from Flint as Kalen jumped to dodge a blast from Angus. The thought of what was happening in their village was starting to weigh in on their focus and hinder on their fighting.

Angus took flight and overlooked them. "As fun as it is to fight you cubs, we have better things to do. Mordred!" he yelled to his partner.

A hippogriff landed beside him and Mordred mounted him as if he were a steed. The hippogriff then took for the sky and the both of them flew for Albion.

"Where do you think you're going?" Flint said before both he and Kalen prepared blasts in their palms to blast the two of them into oblivion. However, there was loud rustling behind them and they turned to see two ogres rushing at them with giant axes in their hands. They quickly converted the blasts in their palms into shields to absorb the impact.

"No," Kalen said as he tried to push back the force of the axe as the ogre put more muscle behind it. "The village."

Kay was off to the side fighting another sorcerer and couldn't get away to pursue them either. The other men they brought with them were also preoccupied either with a Viking, an enemy sorcerer or one of the Thorns' creatures.

Soon the sky had two more pillars of light shoot up as both Angus and Mordred flew beyond the perimeter. They expected to see fresh fires burning in the direction of the village but where disappointed. Instead, they saw the sight of their surprise force of armed gargoyles being held back by Albion guards and their Vikings being engaged by Camelot's knights and soldiers. They could even make out King Arthur fighting with Merlin right beside him casting small spells to inconvenience the warriors and the creatures that he could get at.

"No...Arthur and Emrys are interfering again," Mordred said seeing red as he looked at the objects of his disdain.

"Calm yourself Mordred. This is good. They're too distracted right now. Instead of getting angry...let's combine our power and destroy them both at once." he said with a smile.

Mordred smiled back and nodded. They got close and extended their hands at their targets. "_**Ffurfio Chwyth a Trechu'r Ein Gelynion**_!" they chanted together. Blasts streams of energy suddenly escaped their palms and joined together into one great beam and flew for the King and his Warlock. The fact that any of their men could be caught in the path of it weighing very little on their minds as the only thought they could dwell on was that they would finally get rid of two of their and their king's greatest obstacles with this one spectacle.

The sudden light caught Elyan's eye and he saw the blast heading for his brother in law and friend. "Arthur! Merlin! Look out!"

The two of them caught sight of the blast heading for the two of them. Before Merlin could even begin to work a spell and protect the both of them, a stream of fire came and met the beam. It stopped it in it's track and cancelled it out.

"What?!" both Mordred and Angus shouted. They were so close. Who interfered and cost them their glory?

Arthur and Merlin were wondering the same and they both heard a roar being shouted out in the sky. They looked about and both of their jaws dropped at the sight. For before them...was a dragon hovering above the battlefield. A brilliant red dragon.

* * *

**End of Chapter 21**

A/N: I hope you like this one. The battle scenes were fun to write and I hope they were fun to read. I would've written more about Mordred and Arthur/Merlin's confrontation but I thought the chapter was long enough. How about that ending? Also, now you all know exactly what kind of dragon Madoc now is. Let me know what you think about what will happen now that Madoc's existence has been made public to Arthur and Merlin?

_Chwyth Tan_ - Fire blast

_Chwyth Mellt _- Thunder blast

_Gwinwydd yn Tyfu ac yn Lapio fy Gelyn_ - Vines grow and wrap my foe

_Torri a Rhyddhau i mi_ - Break and release me

_Hedfan am fy Gelyn_ - Fly for my foe

_Llosgi i Lludw_ - Burn to ashes

_Taro_ - Strike

_Rhwystr, Amsugno'r Effaith_ - Barrier, absorb the impact

_Dychewelyd y Chwyth_ - Return the blast

_Chwyth Ynni _- Energy blast

_Darian Ddod a Diogelu ni_ - Shield, come and protect us

_Trawsnewid eu Hesgidiau i Garreg_ - Transform their boots to stone

_Ffurfio Chwyth a Trechu'r Ein Gelynion_ - Form a Blast and Vanquish our foes


	22. Madoc, The Red Dragon

**Dangers in the Path to Destiny**

A/N: My last chapter had so many quick reviews and a lot of views. I'm glad there were comments about Madoc concerning his identity as the red dragon behind the legends. Let me say that his destiny will be tied with the white dragon Aithusa. I will say that with Morgana and Aithusa, they will come onto the scene in my next story. This one still has about eight or nine chapters left in it so don't worry about that. I have big plans in mind for everyone.

* * *

_Perhaps all the dragons of our lives are princessess who are only waiting to see us once beautiful and brave._

~ Rainer Maria Rilke

* * *

Chapter 22: Madoc, the Red Dragon

Over in Albion, Malcolm was sitting out in the grounds right in front of the manor. He had his lute out and was playing a soothing song to the relaxation of Galahad, Clara, Garrett and a few other music lovers who wanted to listen and relax to Malcolm's songs. It was a nice day and they were taking a small break from all the stress of the situation of a possible alliance with Camelot. Young people were just lounging about on the grass as he played. Galahad was also slouching on the ground with Clara resting against him in an embrace as they just rested to the soothing music.

Malcolm strummed a few last notes on his lute before his song was finished and followed by slight applause from his small audience. "Thank you. You're all too kind."

Garrett sat up as he was laying down on the grass. "Malcolm, that was great," he said stretching himself out. "You're great with the lute."

"Thanks Garrett. I don't want to sound big headed but there are few instruments that I don't play great with."

"What about the harp? I remember you playing that when I was a little kid. You never play that one anymore." He saw Malcolm's eyes harden a little at that one. "What ever happened to your harp anyway?"

Malcolm closed his eyes and tried to shake a few of the memories that ambushed him away. "I rather not talk about it."

It didn't matter if he did because that next second, a distant light caught his eye. "Galahad." he said pointing it out.

Clara untangled from him as he stood up and looked at the light. "It's the intruder alert." he said as his eyes fell on it. "The patrols in the village are probably answering to it right now. We shouldn't worry."

But just then that pillar of light was followed by several more, one after another. Malcolm's heart dropped. "How about now?"

He saw that the shots of light were now over twenty. "Maybe so," he said taking off for his sword and battle robes.

Malcolm sent word to a nearby guard to send out an alert for the city to be on standby watch and run to the stables at the front of the city to have some horses ready for them to ride them to the village. He got to the front gate and looked back in time to see both Galahad and Clara in their battle robes with their armor already on. "That was fast." he said taking off for the front of the city to the stables.

"Helps when you have a woman with a good quick dressing spell." He said sparing his wife a glance.

As they ran, a shadow fell upon them and then vanished. They looked up and saw a red dragon flying off in the village's direction.

"Is that...Madoc?" Malcolm asked.

"Where's he going?" Galahad said as he watched him fly off.

Then they could make out another shape going for Madoc's direction. Malcolm knew who it was immediately. "Let's get going?" he said picking up the pace as he saw two more pillars of light shoot up into the sky alerting them.

* * *

The red dragon's appearance had caused the Vikings and Camelot men to be frozen in step as their attention. The Albions had also stopped because the gargoyles they had been fighting had their attention pulled away from them because of the dragon's roar and were now hovering as well and staring it down.

"I don't believe it," Merlin said in a near whisper as he saw a dragon that he had never seen before. "Where did he come from?"

"What?" asked Arthur. "Isn't that one of yours? Didn't you hatch another dragon?"'

"Yes, but...that one was white." Merlin said. "I thought Kilgharrah and Aithusa were the only dragons left."

Arthur looked up at the red dragon again and he actually managed to catch its eye and, for a moment, held its gaze.

Mordred and Angus were mystified by the dragon too.

"That's not Emrys' dragon." Mordred said as he eyed the crimson dragon.

Angus' eyes lit up as something seemed to come to him. "So...at least one of those eggs have hatched."

"What eggs?" asked Mordred.

A few years ago, we Thorns stumbled onto five dragon eggs under the care of a former servant to a dragonlord. Unfortunately, the Order got in our way of taking the eggs for our own. If those dragons have hatched then Merlin's dragon won't be the only one to hinder our plans."

"Not to mention that Emrys already has one dragon to serve Arthur. The last thing we need is for them to have even more."

"Couldn't agree more." Angus mentally gave a command to the armed gargoyles engaging the Albions and told them to turn their attention to that dragon.

Four gargoyles took off from attacking the Albions on the ground and flew for the dragon with the the spears in their claws and talons. Merlin saw them heading for it and he didn't even think as he let his magic loose on them. "_**Hylosgi'r O'r tu Mewn**_!"

His eyes glowed bright and the four creatures just combusted into dust all at once. Arthur had been right beside him and he repressed a shiver seeing Merlin look so fierce in that moment. He was very glad that Merlin was on his side right now. As those four were destroyed, there were two more left and they tried to fly for the dragon but it just let out a stream of fire and burned them so severely that they dropped to the ground as firery clumps.

As the gargoyles were destroyed it seemed to cause all the men on the ground to re-engage in battle. The Albions, now free from the gargoyles, joined in on engaging the Vikings with Arthur's men. Arthur and Merlin also rejoined the fray against the Vikings and they were happy to see that they were pushing them back with the new addition.

Of course, another pair weren't happy...

"I don't believe this." Angus said as he saw their forces being overcome. "We don't have anymore creatures left. The rest are holding off the Order behind us."

"Are you saying that we should leave?" asked Mordred incrediously. "We can surely more than compensate for those worthless creatures."

"Never," Angus said looking somewhat insulted. "We can't leave yet. We can not just leave this battle without delivering some sort of a critical blow. If we don't Vortigern will have our heads."

Mordred looked down on the field. "I know where to make that blow."

"I appreciate your initiative Mordred, but that dragon will just stop us again."

"Not even dragons can be at two places at once." he said looking back at him with a side smile.

Angus looked to the dragon and to Arthur and Merlin. "Ahh," he said catching on. "Go on. I think I know which one you want to handle."

* * *

Over in the forest, the howls and cries of war were scaring off any of the wildlife in the surrounding area. The primary patrol, led by Kay, were engaging hippogriffs and a handful of Vikings and magicians. The Vikings, they had easily dispatched with a few flicks of the their wrists, or blasts from their weapons, but it was the hippogriffs that were giving them a hard time. The one that Kay was fighting seemed tough but Kay was confident he could win. He released a blast of air magical energy from his palm at it but it actually charged against it and fought it off. Kay was surprised at that. In his last fight, he got rid of many at once with one attack and now one was able to fight off one of his magical assaults? As he fended off its beak and claws, he saw a shimmer coming from its neck, momentarily diverting his eyes. Yet that moment gave the hippogriff the time it needed to charge it beak's point right into the side of his stomach. He dropped his sword and gripped the side of its head as it tried to plunge deeper and spill out his insides. Kay could've screamed if he was biting the inside of his cheek and digging his feet more into the ground to try and stop the hippogriff's advance. His hands gripping the hippogriff's head started to then glow.

Kalen and Flint held back the blows from the ogres axes. These two beasts were about a half size bigger than them and the axes they had were double bladed and looked as heavy as boulders. Flint fired a giant fireball at the one he was fighting, hoping to reduce it to charcoal, but the ogre swung at it and made it faze out.

"Oh, come on." Flint said back away a little. "What is this?"

Kalen conjured lightning energy in his palms and released it at the ogre he was fighting and it used it's axe to keep it at bay until Kalen let up. Kalen studied the axe and could make out writing on the inner workings of the blades. "Those axes are warded."

Flint focused his sight on their double blade axes and could see the scratches of the runes imbedded in them. "You have got to be kidding me." he said through his gritted teeth.

Kalen tightened his grip on his sword. "The Thorns must've equipped them with anti-magic defenses to cover their weaknesses against us."

"Terrific," Flint spat out as one of the two ogres growled and charged at the two with his axe held high. It went to swing down at them and the two of them jumped in opposite directions to dodge. It struck the ground where they stood, leaving a wedge over two feet deep.

"Okay?" Kalen said looking at the wedge.

"Fine. Not too fast," Flint said jumping to his feet and ready to throw another fireball as the ogre was trying to free his axe from the ground where he missed. He nearly let it loose before he felt himself get collided that knocked him down and stayed on top of him for a few seconds. "What?" he sputtered.

Above him, Flint saw a blur as the second ogre charged past. It had its hand out with the axe in a dicing motion that struck air. If Kalen hadn't been knocked down when he did, he would've been cut in half from behind. He looked at the clump at his side and saw that it was Kay.

"Your welcome," Kay said rolling off him and clutching his side.

As the ogre swung and missed, Kalen brought his blade down on that wrist holding that axe and lopped it off. The hand holding the axe fell to the ground and the ogre roared in pain. It gripped the new stump on its arm that was starting to drip blood. Kalen moved back as it started to flail about in pain. It was so out of control that the sight of it getting cut in half across it's torso didn't surprise Kalen as much as it should. The other ogre struck it down with its own axe to finally have room to charge at him again. It picked up the other's dropped one and stomped at him with both its thick tree like arms holding giant crushing axes.

Flint eyes caught a wet patch underneath where Kay's hand was and a shine of red on the tips of his fingers. "What?"

"Just a knick." he said playing down the pain. "A hippogriff managed to stick his beak into me before I took its head."

Flint went to get to his feet. "Why'd you run into me?" he said with a grunt.

"Saw that ogre going for you and thought you'd want to keep that head." Kay said getting to his feet to. "You're welcome," he said with a little sarcasm before a roar brought their attention back to the ogre charging for Kalen. Kay saw that its back was turned and focused on Kalen. "It's back. _**Gwaywffon O Wynt**_!" he shouted before a concentrated wind in a thin twister line went for the ogre.

"_**Chwyth tan**_!" Flint fired a blast for the ogre's back. It's axes were pointed Kalen and couldn't use them to block his spells this time.

They both struck its back and caused to roar in pain as it dropped the axes in surprise. Kalen saw Kay and Flint blasting the ogre and he capitalized. He readied his sword. "_**Grymuso Fy Llafn**_." His blade shimmered with dim light and then he chucked it at the beast and it pierced its chest.

The light from the sword poured into the wound it inflicted and seemed to work with Kay and Flint's blast and the ogre glowed slightly before its body crumbled to dust.

* * *

Mordred locked his vision on the duo as Arthur felled another Viking. "_**Dinistrio fy Nhargedau**_!" He released a blue blast that shot at the two.

However, Merlin saw the light from his spell almost immediately and was more than ready. "_**Gwarchod Ni**_!" Merlin's spell created a magical block in front of himself and Arthur to stop the incoming attack. He made sure that it was far enough so he and Arthur and any of their men close by weren't effected by the aftershock of the souls fueling the power.

After that, Arthur and Merlin stepped away from all the craziness of the battlefield so they could focus on their new attacker. The two of them were staring down the young man as he descended down before them and dismounted the hippogriff. He glared at the two of them with his pale blue eyes which had a slight light to them left over from his latest spell.

Arthur tightened his grip on Excalibur as he looked at the sorcerer's robes. "You're another one of those Thorns aren't you?"

Mordred let out a smirk. "More than that. You don't remember me don't you?"

Arthur eyes lit up in confusion. "We have met before?"

Merlin stared into his eyes and suddenly, it clicked. He can't believe he didn't feel him sooner like he did back at the first battle. "Mordred." he said simply.

Arthur's tone was anything but simple. "Mordred? The druid boy? That Mordred?"

Mordred broke into a small smile. One that actually didn't have any malice or anger behind it but amusement. "Finally, we've been just missing each other and it's nice to formally meet again. Happy to see me again?"

Arthur and Merlin looked him over. It was understandable that they didn't place him earlier as time had its way with him. Mordred sure had changed from that little boy that they rescued from Camelot's cells. He looked to be as tall as Merlin and his build was similar to Arthur's though a little bit smaller. The green druid robes that he wore as a boy replaced with the black robes of the Thorns with the decorative velvet thorns wrapped around his forearms to his shoulder blades and thorns wrapped around his legs.

"It's been almost five years," Merlin said trying not to let any emotion show on his face because of this. He had not forgotten Kilgharrah's warning about him. Kilgharrah had said that Mordred would go on to kill Arthur and if it hadn't been for Merlin's spells, he would have. "You've grown."

"I have. My past few years filled with nothing but the thought of making the two of you pay."

"Pay?" Arthur said looking from Merlin back to Mordred. "Last time I checked we both saved your life."

"Only to take the life of my guardian Aglain a year later." Mordred said with very well controlled anger. "That and killing a few of my friends when you attacked our camp."

Arthur thought back and tried to find out what Mordred was talking about until he remembered a druid camp he had entered when his father sent him to bring back Morgana. That had to be the event he was talking about. "You were there?"

"Yes. That was my camp. Two of the men you left me to on the day you smuggled me out of Camelot, that was their camp too. You sent us off in peace only to come with your men to cut them down after they showed you their gratitude." He turned to look at Merlin. "Funny, isn't it Emrys? How Arthur can be so respectful one moment and then so deceitful the next. You better be careful...though you are hardly any better. Maybe that's why you two get along so well. You two have more in common than you might think."

Arthur and Merlin bit back the guilt they were feeling as they both had a hand in all of that but they couldn't let their guard go down. Arthur wouldn't let himself lose focus now.

"I have many things to answer for," started Arthur.

"The first truth to come out of that mouth," cut in Mordred. "My kind really are nothing but hunting game for you unless you can tame them like Emrys here."

"But," Arthur said cutting him off. "You are starting to have more to answer for than I will ever have. You say that I don't care...you're the one leading an attack on your kind here, not me."

"Please," he said looking about at the Albions fighting off his Viking soldiers. "they chose to let themselves sell out to you Pendragons instead of being true to themselves. They've sealed their fate."

"And consuming souls?" said Merlin. "How is that being true to being of magic? Face it Mordred. You're the real one that doesn't care about our kind."

"Believe what you want Emrys."

"No," he said glaring him down. "You believe what you want Mordred."

"Oh, I will. And right now, I believe that I would love to deliver your hides to my king."

Arthur scoffed at him. "Vortigern is a sorry excuse for a king,"

Mordred thought back to the man that finally let him be what he was with no problems at all. "He's more a king then you'll ever be."

He then shot a spell at Arthur but Merlin fired one himself and cancelled it out immediately. Mordred ran for them with his sword and his hippogriff charged alongside him. Arthur stood tall and waited to have them engage him and Merlin picked up an abandoned sword off the ground and stood firm right beside his king and friend.

* * *

As Mordred and Merlin exchanged spells and Arthur and the hippogriff tried to strike at one another, the metallic clang of swords, spears and maces were ringing throughout the fields and could even be heard well at the village and the camp.

The Albion citizens in the village were huddled together in concern for all their fathers, sons, and friends who were out there fighting to keep them all safe. Eli was among them, looking out onto the battlefield and hoped hard that his father would be able to return to him. Silent tears fell as he saw the red and blue dots of Camelot and Albion men fighting against the black dots of the Vikings. He also hoped that Merlin, Arthur and the others were okay too.

The camp was also watching the battle but their reactions were more alert than frightful. Queen Annis, Lady Elena and Lady Vivian were watching all the fighting surrounded by a dozen of their armed knights while the rest of their men were keeping an armed line a little ahead to protect them and the wounded still in the campground. They had their weapons ready and were silently hoping that Arthur and all his brave men would be able to emerge in victory. In Arthur's meeting tent however, the emotions were more angry and bitter as all the knights that Merlin magically trapped there still were struggling to free their feet from their new stone casings. The sounds from the outside doing little to settle themselves.

The defenders from Camelot were reacquainted with the brutality of the Vikings. Their swings and bodily slams were as strong and merciless as ever. However, this time, the Vikings didn't have an overwhelming number of magical creatures snapping at them. The new dragon and Merlin had seen to that. Without them to help the Vikings intimidate their enemies, it was a fair and straight up battle of steel. They were confident that they could win now, it wouldn't be easy as it _was_ the Vikings but they had a real chance now.

Yet, when Mordred touched down, it seemed that they had to fight magic along with the Vikings again. While Mordred didn't attack any of them from where he was assaulting Merlin and the King, the echo of the souls energizing his magical powers was starting to surround them. Many of the men started to feel a chill crawl up their spines and could hear a distant sounding scream in their skulls. It was beginning to hinder their fighting little by little.

Tristan was struggling against the strength of a Viking who was breathing hard at him as he tried to push back against Tristan's sword with his own. "Uh," he said as he was assaulted by the man's bad breath. Tristan was starting to lose stamina but that had more to do with the combination of the Viking's strength and his draining strength caused by Mordred's power.

Elyan was relieved when Arthur and Merlin were spared that sneak attack from those Thorns. Despite his warning, he was scared he was too late...until that dragon appeared and saved the two of them. He used the anger he was feeling at nearly losing the two of them and putting it behind his attacks and taking it out on the Vikings. Yet, a chill was starting to fill him that had little to do with fear.

Percival thought very little about the implications of a new dragon or of the gargoyles being destroyed. He only let his mind be focused on fighting the Vikings off to spare all the villagers and refugees from Camelot their relentless wraths. He was burning with determination until he started to feel it cool down. Then it went from cool to slightly frigid and his insides started to feel like mild ice. He tried to bite it back as he engaged the Vikings but there was only so long he could.

Gwaine was holding in a bit of rage. He could make out his friends the King and his former servant/friend holding their own against that young Thorn but he seemed to be a mighty foe and had a hippogriff with him that was helping him out by trying to slash the king throat out. Yet, he couldn't do anything to help them as these Vikings and soon after, this chilling feeling kept attacking him. He really wished he had some hot mead right now and let the thought of sharing one with his friends after all this keep him from stopping to swing his blade at his opponents.

Leon was parrying the hits that came at him with a little desperation. It didn't look like the major and high ranking defenders of Albion were anywhere in sight. He guessed they were either held back somewhere by these or the other Thorns, or worse. He took it upon himself to not let their citizens be subject to these...savages. He knew that's what they were; Real savages. The people in the village ahead where with the city of Albion and magic or not, he couldn't fail in protecting them, especially in his friend Galahad's stead.

The echo resonating from Mordred may have started affecting the men from Camelot but they still had a good chance for victory. The Albion soldiers and recruits who had been engaging the gargoyles now were helping in engaging the Vikings. They weren't being affected by it at all. Lucky for them they were wearing their uniforms that were enchanted to counter against the evil aftershocks of the Thorns' magic. Trey swiped at Viking's chest with his sword before he picked up the pike of a fallen Albion and released a blast from it to take down two a short distance away. While the Albions fighting close to the village didn't have the hardened experience as most of the other fighters there, they still had the assistance of their magic and magical weapons to aid them and, luckily, the Vikings weren't as resistant to magic as the creatures under the Thorns' thrall.

* * *

While Mordred was engaging Arthur and Merlin and the Knights and soldiers of Camelot along with the Albions fought together against the Vikings all on the ground, there was another great confrontation happening in the air. Angus fired shot after shot, trying to bring down this dragon. However, this dragon didn't seem to be unintelligent as it easily avoided each one of his attacks. It darted around in the sky as it moved to perfectly dodge them. Angus would've flown closer to try and have a more accurate shot but after it stopped both his and Mordred's combined blast, he was wary of getting too close. This dragon's power seemed even stronger than that golden one under Merlin's command despite how obviously younger it was in comparison.

The dragon then let loose an attack of it own on Angus and he fired a blast of solid energy to try and stop it. They collided in mid-air but the dragon's fire was slowly overpowering him. His breathing was quickening as the distance between the fire and his blast shortened. He was starting to sweat buckets until he caught sight of some bodies of his fallen Viking warriors. "_**Milwyr Marw Hedfan ac Amddiffyn fy Mywyd**_!" The bodies suddenly flew up into the air and seemed to mold into a human blockade that absorbed the dragon's fire. The bodies burned straight to ashes but did buy Angus the time he need to dart away to avoid the incoming fire blast.

"Damn it," Angus said to himself as he and the dragon stared each other down. "I used to much energy on fortifying the creatures we brought against the Order's magic. I don't have enough energy left to overpower a dragon this powerful."

"Problems?"

Angus eyes shot open at the sound of a new voice before he heard another. "Don't seem to be your usual confident self today old friend."

He kept searching around until "Hey," the first one said. "Up here."

Angus turned his gaze higher and saw a sight that he knew he didn't need right now. There, hovering above him, looking down on him in amusement were Lord Connor and the traitor and deserter Dylan. Behind them was Connor's chimera and it seemed to have two people on its back also looking down at him. Yet, it was Connor and Dylan who had the brunt of his attention. He didn't need to add them to his list of problems right now.

"Dylan," he said trying not to look troubled. "You look well. Is life treating you any better?"

Dylan broke into a smile that would've had many people chilled at the darkness showing in his eyes. "It has it ups and downs. Seeing you backed into a corner...I'll call it an up."

Connor drew out his sword. "Surrender now Angus. You already know that you can't win."

"We're feeling generous today and we'll make sure your death is quick," added Dylan unsheathing his own blade.

The red dragon let out a roar at that moment as if to back up the words of these two powerful warriors.

"Looks like Madoc thinks that as well," Connor said with a smirk of his own.

Angus started to slightly back away. He knew his chances to fight off all three of them were slim to none. His power was too drained from fighting the dragon to defeat them. Even if he wasn't, he still wouldn't risk fighting any of these three unless they were alone. He searched in himself and saw that he didn't even have enough power to teleport himself back to Wirtgernesburg. He would have to get to Mordred to retreat. But he couldn't leave this defeat empty handed or he would suffer Vortigern's punishments for launching this failed assault from under him. His eyes sought out Mordred fighting the King of Camelot and his sorcerer friend Merlin and he found the thing to save his skin.

He then rapidly fell back to the ground to the surprise of both Connor and Dylan.

* * *

Mordred and Merlin exchanged spell after spell in a magical dueling dance. Merlin was faring much better than his last battle against a Thorn. His want and need to protect Arthur filled his very being as he deflected and cancelled each of Mordred's assault. He made sure to not have direct or close contact with Mordred's attacks to not be poisoned by the evil aftershocks of the taken souls that Mordred was using as fuel. Also, he knew not to underestimate Mordred like he did Angus and kept his guard up.

Arthur was fending off Mordred's hippogriff. It slashed and pecked at him with it claws and beak but had yet to inflict a wound on Arthur but the same could be said for it. The chill coming off of Mordred's magic was starting to hinder his strength and it was sapping his usual strength. Arthur stood back after the last exchange and stared the creature down. He tightened his grip on Excalibur as he caught the creature's eyes. They seemed to be looking about trying to find the best place to have at him. As he did, Arthur's eyes studied its front claws and it's chestnut colored back as well as its white feathered head before a glint at its neck caught its eye. He focused on it and saw that there were from a chain. If Arthur didn't know better, it seemed to be as if the creature was wearing a necklace.

The beast was bringing its front feet closer to it and it's hind horse hooves were starting to go into an angle. Arthur's eyes shot open as he knew what the hippogriff was about to do and leaned himself back. It was in the nick of time as the hippogriff then pounced at him like a lion and Arthur fell on his back to avoid the oncoming force of his claws and beak. As if passed overhead, he took Excalibur and jutted it straight up into its gut and it fell to the ground ungracefully. The sword was still stuck in its belly as if fidgeted weakly before succumbing to the grip of death. Arthur let himself breathe a little hard as he stomped to it and pulled his sword out.

He gazed at the weapon which he knew now was capable of slaying any enemy he fought against. "Thank you again Merlin." he said to himself as he turned to the warlock on his mind.

Merlin was still engaging Mordred a little bit aways. Merlin must've moved his fight further away to try and and protect him and his men from the effects of Mordred's power. It was somewhat succeeding in diluting the effects but it meant that Merlin had to withstand more of it himself. He took a moment to actually feel...proud to have him at his side. Merlin was taking Mordred's force upon himself to spare him and his knights as much of it as he could. He looked upon his men to see that they were getting assistance from the Albion warriors and their magic. He knew they would have to work together but deep down he had still felt a little uncomfortable at the thought. However, the reality was starting to make him feel...warm. He couldn't find any other way to describe it.

Suddenly, he caught something falling down from the sky quickly close by. It was Angus. He brought his palms together and out in Merlin's direction. Merlin's back was to him and his focus was on Mordred.

"No," Arthur said as he ran towards him.

Angus saw Merlin was too preoccupied with Mordred to notice him and saw the opening he needed. As he focused on him, he felt relieved that they could take the news of the death of Camelot and Albion's bridge to Vortigern.

"_**Ryddhau fy Llid ar fy Gelyn**_!" A glow of green energy gathered in his hands and then shot out for Merlin.

Mordred noticed the light forming and he immediately fell back and shot a last spell to deter Emrys. After Merlin cancelled it out, he saw Mordred falling farther back. He briefly wondered why until he saw some light at the corner of his eye. He turned and was blinded by the brightening light. He looked closer and saw someone holding back the spell. It was Arthur and he was holding it back with his sword.

Arthur had jumped into the path of the attack and used his blade to intercept it. It worked the last time back during the first battle so he had hoped it would work again. He felt like he was holding a door against a herd of cattle trying to charge themselves in. He bared the brunt of this assault and put as much muscle as he could into holding it back. The chill of evil started to overcome him and it felt as his insides were starting to get frosted with ice. He just hoped Merlin noticed in time to get out of the way of it. It looked like he would fall any second until he was suddenly overcome with warmth. He felt a fire starting to fill him and giving him new strength. He suddenly began to push harder on the attack and then forced himself to try and move forward. As he took that first step, he pushed hard enough on the blast and changed its direction and it headed right back for it's source.

Angus froze in surprise as the blast turned around and headed for him. "What? No...No!" He hid none of his horror as he started to step back in shock before the blast hit him and overcame him in its power. He started screaming as he saw his body start to crumble before his own eyes. "NO!" His screams hit a high before they died out as his body was then reduced to dust that was carried away by the wind. A shower of lights, like fireflies started to emerge from the ashes and fly off before they disappeared.

Arthur's breathing was labored but he had a smile on his face as that evil man was defeated. He felt someone behind him and knew that's where the warmth from before came from. He turned back to smile at Merlin for his help but behind him wasn't Merlin. It wasn't even human. He met the red scales and red eyes of the new dragon. It stared at him and he stared right back.

* * *

**End of Chapter 22**

A/N: Seems like there is something brewing for both Arthur and Madoc. Speaking of, one anonymous reviewer had asked exactly how Madoc had hatched without a dragonlord. I've made it that dragons could come into the world on their own without a dragonlord's call if life calls them out. In Madoc's case, when he hatched it was his time to come forth and it was nearly seven years ago from this current time. Unknowingly to the Albions or even Merlin, Madoc actually began to hatch the moment when Merlin and Arthur first met. The Albions and Lionel took it as an omen of good fortune for them all as, for them, it was soon after they had won the war on Eire and a few weeks before Albion's 15 year anniversary.

_Gwaywffon o Wynt_ - Spear of wind

_Grymuso fy Llafn_ - Empower my blade.

_Hylosgr'r O'r tu Mewn_ - Combust from within

_Dinistrio fy Nhargedau_ - Destroy my targets

_Gwarchod Ni_ - Shield us

_Milwyr Marw Hedfan ac Amddiffyn fy Mywyd_ - Dead soldiers fly and protect my life

_Rhyddhau fy Llid ar fy Gelyn_ - Unleash my wrath on my foe


	23. Keeper of the Dragons

**Dangers in the Path to Destiny**

A/N: I was completely taken aback at having three reviews pop up in under an hour of posting my last chapter. It was nice to see so many of you liking Arthur and Madoc's actions during the battle. I'm glad you liked how Arthur saved Merlin and Madoc saved Arthur. There are a couple more chapters left and I've set up a poll for ideas to be put into the next story. Go and vote for what ideas to have put in and not to put in.

* * *

_The only victories which leave no regret are those which are gained over ignorance_

~ Napoleon Bonaparte

* * *

Chapter 23: Keeper of the Dragons

When Merlin had seen Arthur taking the brunt of Angus' blast, his heart nearly stopped. He spared a second to wonder what was going through Arthur's head to jump in front of a spell like that. That was until he noticed that he was actually holding it off using Excalibur. However, he knew perfectly well what it meant to be that close to an attack from Angus. Arthur's complexion started to go paler with each second. He was about to cast a spell to get Arthur away from there when a giant shape landed behind his friend. It was the red dragon and now that it was closer, Merlin saw that it looked a third Kilgharrah's size. And as soon as it touched down, it opened it's jaws and breathed out a small stream of fire. Merlin thought the dragon was about to reduce Arthur to charcoal until it saw the flames starting to encircle him like firery snakes. Arthur seemed to have color rise into his cheeks again and he started to fight back. He pushed himself forward and pushed Angus' blast back at him and reduced the evil Thorn to dust and sparkles. As the lights fluttered, Merlin could hear distant cries of joy in the back of his mind.

Merlin wasn't the only person to notice Angus' demise. His screams and the explosion made everyone gasp in surprise. All the men fighting on the battlefield were stupified at the display of seeing Angus being destroyed. Mordred was horrified at the sight and sounds of his friend and one of his mentors being reduced to dust by his own attack. He very much wanted to tear Arthur limb by limb but with that dragon and Emrys close to him he knew that he wouldn't be able to singe a hair.

"Well, well," said a voice causing him to look up. Two new sorcerers touched down on the ground a little ways in front of him blocking Emrys from view. "The Thorns found another recruit."

Mordred didn't know the one who just said that but he recognized the other one. It was Lord Connor. He hadn't changed from the last time that he had seen him and he looked no worse for wear considering that the last time he laid his eyes on him was to send a poisoned bolt at him.

Apparently, Connor remembered him as well. "Mordred...right? It's been a while. I see you've sprouted since I last saw you. You remember me don't you? You should considering you gave me this little scar here," he said pointing to a part of his chest hidden by his shirt and cloak.

"Connor," he said gritting his teeth.

"I'm glad to see you actually," he said spinning his sword in his hand. "Now I can pay back for that memento as well as taking the lives of four of my men."

A series of thumping sounds caught Mordred's attention and he saw a small contingent of Albions coming in on horseback to join the battlefield.

"As much as I'd love to stay and settle old debts I have work for my king to do. But make no mistake...the debt for Alvarr and now Angus' life will be collected out of all of you. We'll just have to settle them later." His eyes glowed with a pale blue light before a wind came and blew some dust around at their eyes and enveloped Mordred's body. When it stopped, Mordred was gone.

"Damn it." Dylan said as he kicked at the spot where Mordred was. "Seems Angus taught this one more than just magic."

Merlin was happy to see Connor again and it seemed he brought a new friend with him. Merlin was going to say hi to the new sorcerer when something made him freeze. It was the power he was sensing off this other one. It made him tense up. It wasn't like the power from the Thorns effects on him but...more like what he felt from Morgana. A great darkness seemed to be pouring off this man, one backed by pain, anger and loneliness. He just stayed back and kept his eyes on this one.

"But right now, we have more immediate concerns," Connor said pointing to the battlefield. He then flew off with Dylan on his tail and looked down on the still stunned soldiers and knights. "If you Vikings care anything for your lives then you'll drop your weapons now." he ordered.

The hard threat at their lives made mixed reactions come from them. Many took a good moment to consider their situation. They had no creatures to aid them, both of their magical generals were gone and they were now outnumbered and outspelled here in enemy territory. About a handful actually dropped their weapons but the rest either just kept on attacking or tried to tuck tail and run for it. The ones that tried to sneak a hit on a knight or soldier were quickly cut down. Those that dropped their weapons and now had their hands up in surrender were being manhandled to their knees.

The ones making the break for it, about twenty of them, however...

Galahad caught sight of Connor, Dylan, and Emrys in the sky and all the commotion on the ground. "Connor," he said riding close underneath him. "What's going on?"

"Explanations later. Don't let them get away." he ordered before Galahad and his troops rode after them.

Dylan flew slowly after them also and sent blasts to deter them. "Where do all of you think you're going?" he asked in a mocking sound of curiosity.

Some of the Albion and Camelot soldiers chased after them too but the Vikings hoped that they would give them the slip in the woods beyond Albion's boundaries. Yet, they didn't get the chance to see if it would work because a few blasts shot from beyond those boundaries and hit the ground in front of them, stopping them stone cold. Before them were the primary patrols and Order members that Angus and Mordred had lured away with their diversions. Some looked a little worse for wear but all of them also looked angry and out for their blood. Flint and Kalen were hovering in the air over their men giving the Vikings bloodthirsty glares.

Flint hovered forward and let his fists get overcome with flames. "Leaving so soon?"

Kay, still holding pressure on his wound, stepped a little forward and brought his sword to point at them. "Drop your weapons or drop dead. It's your choice but I'm sure that many of us here and behind you are hoping you make the right choice."

The Vikings looked behind them to see that their enemies now had them boxed in and cornered front and back. The sorcerer shooting at them was hovering over them with his sword still out and seemed to be tapping his foot on an imaginary floor, waiting on them to make their move. One by one, they just dropped their swords and bit the sides of their tongues as they regretfully put their hands up in surrender.

"Damn," Flint said as he made the flames on his fists disappear. "You made the wrong one." This made a few troops, Albion and Camelot, chuckle as they went to apprehend them.

* * *

Arthur was having a staring contest with that dragon and neither of them were letting up. Both had been oblivious to all the commotion around them as the Knights and the Order went and took all their new captives away. Blue met red as they didn't blink at one another. Arthur's mind was going a mile a minute as he was in front of a dragon practically at arms length. Sure, Merlin's dragon Kilgharrah was bigger but this one seemed fiercer for some reason. Excalibur was shaking and seemed to be getting heavier as all that was in his mind was looking right at those red orbs. He didn't know what to do but he couldn't seem to just stay there and stare.

"As much fun as a staring contest is, I think it's time to stop Madoc."

Arthur finally turned away to see Connor's Chimera Emrys land with two people on its back, one in leather armor and the other in different clothes. The one who had spoke dismounted and beckoned the dragon to him. He looked to be around late 40's and early fifties, a slight gray on the top of his brown locks. He was wearing a blue cloak with a black dragon etched on his chest and a gold and silver dragon designed on his shoulder blades and had on a metal helmet that looked like the top of a dragon's jaw.

Merlin walked over to Arthur and shook him out of his trance. "Are you okay?"

"Hm? Oh...I'm fine Merlin. What about you?"

"I'm okay." he said before he narrowed his eyes at him. "Arthur, what on earth were you thinking? Just jumping into a blast like that? You could've been killed."

"If I didn't then you would've been killed. Don't be so ungrateful Merlin."

Merlin eyes shot up in disbelief. "So, you want me to be grateful to the fact that it could've been you who was reduced to dust in front of my eyes?"

"I'm alive, aren't I?" he shot back. "It's not as if you wouldn't have done the same."

"But...you...that's not the point Arthur."

Suddenly a loud clapping sound rang in their ears. Connor was clapping his hands before putting out a hand to slightly separate the two. "Alright, enough already. I'm sure you two can settle this later at a more appropriate time but I think that dealing with all the mess from the battle is more important right now." Arthur and Merlin looked at Connor a little annoyed but they just huffed and silently admitted that Connor had a good point. "Good,"

"Connor," Arthur said taking in the sight of Albion's leader. He didn't seem to have changed from the last time he'd seen the Beast Tamer. "Long time no see."

"Yes. I heard that you all were in Albion after what had happened in Camelot. It was pure luck that I intercepted Malcolm's message when I did and gathered reinforcements." he said before turning to Lionel. "I think introductions are in order here. Merlin...Arthur, I'd like you to meet a good friend of mine. Lionel, the Keeper of the Dragons."

Merlin looked the man up and down. "Keeper of the Dragons?" Based on how this man was dressed, he looked like some holy man with great reverance to dragons.

Apparently not just to dragons as Lionel looked Merlin up and down before he bowed his head to him. "Lord Merlin, Connor has told me much about you. I never thought I would ever see another dragonlord again. It's truly an honor to meet you." He then raised his head up and extended his hand for Merlin to shake.

Merlin was fighting down a blush at the praise from this man as he went to take his hand. "Thank you."

Lionel seemed to be studying his face a little more before he let go of his hand. "My...you're the spitting image of Balinor when he was at this age. Except for the eyes and cheekbones."

Merlin heart skipped a beat. He'd never heard to much about his father and this man claimed that he resembled him. "You knew my father?"

"Of course. I knew most the Dragonlords back then. I used to be the servant of one and he met with Balinor a good deal of the time. It's a pleasure to have met his son." He then pointed out the red dragon. "I believe you've already met Madoc. Say hi to the Dragonlord boy."

Madoc let out a little sound before bowing his head slightly. Connor went up to him and fondled his nose. "It would seem that Madoc took a liking to you Arthur."

"Arthur?" asked Lionel.

Arthur went up to Lionel to try and shake his hand. "Arthur Pendragon. It's a pleasure to meet you."

At the word Pendragon Lionel made a little flinch but just kept staring at him. Finally Lionel gave him a nod. "Pleasure." he said curtly before going over to Emrys and taking a pack and putting it on over his back. "Lets go Madoc. I have to look you over. I can't believe you just took off like that."

Arthur just watched Lionel and Madoc slowly walk away with some awkwardness descending on the rest of them. "Something I said?" he said trying to fight off this new tension.

Connor began to rub the back of his neck a little embarrassed at all this. "Err...why don't we help with dealing with all the Vikings." He looked to the other rider on Emrys. "Bedivere, would you come with me please?"

"Of course," he said hopping of Emrys and running to his side.

"Yes," Merlin said jumping on a safe distraction from that. "We should focus on that, right Arthur?"

"Of course," he said resheathing his sword. As Merlin and Connor walked off Arthur spared one more glance at the red dragon before he joined them. Little did he know that Madoc glanced back at him as well.

* * *

The Vikings captured totaled around less than thirty. Connor and Arthur had ordered their respective men to guard the prisoners. They were led the village's storehouse where they were made to sit with their hands and feet tied. Percival suggested to one of the Order members that they could save rope if they stuck a few to the wall and while he held them up, the spell was placed to do just that. It generated some amusement from everyone to see the dangling against the wall like that from their backs. The storehouse was shut and they had it surrounded by themselves until it could be decided what to do with them. Merlin was helping some of them put a ward around the storehouse to try and keep the men inside from escaping without them being the wiser. They may be defeated but the Vikings were still formiddable. It was better safe than sorry.

All those who were injured where starting to be tended by Albion's healers. At this point, many of the men from Camelot were just too tired or too used to the sight of magic to even be scared anymore. They were also caught up in the thought that they had emerged victorious against Vortigern's forces after spending weeks in despair of their crushing defeat. As for the Albions, many of their injured and returned men were getting showered in their family and friend's tears at their return. Eli was one who locked his father in a hard gripping hug, relieved that he was still safe and sound.

Unfortunately, not everything was good with everyone. They had suffered casualties in the battle, not heavy ones, but they were painful nevertheless. About 3 knights and 11 soldiers of Camelot were felled and 2 Order members and 14 Albion soldiers had died as well. As happy as they were with their victory, they were just as sad with the loss of good men.

Arthur was getting looked over by Gaius as he looked at his pupils in his eyes and felt around for a fever. They were alone and Arthur was happy that no one could see him getting treated like this, it was a little humiliating. "I told you, I'm fine Gaius." he said as he was getting fussed over like he was a babe.

"I'm sorry Arthur but this is necessary. You went and took the brunt of that evil spell of Angus unleashed, it is truly a miracle that you're even still alive."

"I couldn't let Merlin be struck down. That idiot had his back turned and he never would've noticed it anyway so I did what I could." He looked over at Gaius who seemed to have deep levels of gratitude for his king pouring out of him for going to such lengths to save his former ward. "Besides," he said with a shrug. "If it hadn't been for him giving me Excalibur I wouldn't have been able to do a thing so he had as much a hand in that as I did."

"How did you know it would work?" Gaius asked as he looked down at Arthur's sword. It didn't have a mark on it. You would think that it didn't go through an episode like that.

"Back at the first battle, a great spell was coming at me and I used it to stop it. It hit the blade but I held my ground and hacked it away. I thought that if it worked on that spell then it would work on another one."

"Extraordinary," he said fingering the blade. "Your sword is one forged from dragon's breath. I've read many stories of wielders of such swords being able to fell any foe and overcome any attack thrown at them. Before, I thought that maybe they might be some slight exaggerations over time but it would seem that the story were true to the very last word."

A weapon so great that it didn't need to have tricks and mystical attacks like the weapons of the Albions. Merlin's dragon Kilgharrah had told Arthur that and now he was starting to see what he had meant. It may be a weapon of magic but with it, he could defend his friends and people from any enemy that tried to harm them. "It's amazing Gaius."

"However," he said giving Arthur some water. "even though the sword may have few limits, you still have many. Eli's father told me of the armor, mail and protective cloaks that the men here use to shield themselves from the poisoning effects of the Thorns' power. I don't think the sword would've done that just the same."

Arthur thought back to the time fighting off that blast and remembered how his body practically was freezing over. "I was starting to feel it. My body was starting to seize up and my insides felt like they were turning to ice...but then I just started feeling warm and it felt like I had the strength to do anything. Like...I knew that I was going to defeat Angus no matter what. The next thing I know, I'm hurling his attack right back at him no worse for wear. I thought it might've been Merlin at first. That he used a spell to give me the protection and strength I needed but when I looked, it was that dragon...Madoc Connor said his name was."

"Yes, I was most surprised to hear that. I thought all dragons but the Great Dragon and the young white dragon were all that were left of them." He saw that something seemed to pass over Arthur's eyes at the mention of the dragons' existence. "Something wrong Arthur?"

"Hmm...oh, it's nothing really Gaius. Just...something about that dragon saved me. I-I could feel it. After the battle, I looked into its eyes and I couldn't help but feel caught in its grip. Like it was telling me something."

"Telling you something? What?"

"I don't know. But whatever it was saying, I just knew that it was trying to call me...friend." He thought back to those shining red eyes and how they held such power but also...care in them. Just seeing them again made him feel warm from the tips of his fingers to his toes.

"Well, if he did call you friend then it's great to see that another being of magic has taken a liking to you."

"Yes...but I don't think the same could be said for Lionel."

"The one with the title Keeper of the Dragons?"

"Have you heard of him before?"

"No. I've never come across him or that title before. Dragons didn't have a keeper before. Generally, back in the prime of the Old Religion, keepers of magical creatures were summoned when a creature faced the danger of extinction. The high priests and priestesses of the Old Religion would find a worthy guardian they believed would ensure their continued survival. Anhora, Keeper of the Unicorns was one such person. Unicorns began to fade from existence thanks to the sprouting amount of evil in men's hearts. Greed, Malice, Envy and Bloodlust began to have stronger grips on people. As unicorns were creatures of purity, it was like poison to them. A keeper was selected to protect and watch over them until the time came for him/her to pass the duty to someone they deemed worthy to carry on passed their life."

"And since my father destroyed most of the dragons, Lionel was called to watch and protect them." Arthur finished. "It's because of him that he even has that duty to begin with. It's not a surprise he would be so short in my presence."

As a boy, one of his favorite games was Knights and Dragons. He often felt proud of his father for slaying them but also felt bad that he couldn't have had the honor of killing at least one. When Merlin had told him that he had slain Kilgharrah, he was excited that he finally fulfilled his childhood dream. Yet, looking into Madoc's eyes, he couldn't ever understand how he had ever felt that way. That dragon seemed to connect with him and his first impulse had been to try and get ready to kill it? Something seemed to ignite in him and now he wanted to fight off any who would even think of laying a finger on Madoc.

"It's okay Arthur," said Gaius bringing him back. "All any of us can do now is try our best to make amends."

Arthur began to rub his eyes. It had been a really long day. "I just hope that I can."

"Hello," said a voice from outside the tent's flap.

"Come in," said Arthur.

It was Connor. "Arthur...I was hoping you and I could talk about all that's happened recently. I understand from Merlin that you've been wanting to speak with me for a while now. I thought it might be best to talk without the pressure of people watching or whispering first."

"Yes," he said pointing to a chair and straightening himself up. "Please."

* * *

That night, their dead men were laid out on the field with funeral pyres set for each one. They were all close by one another. The men from both Camelot and Albion would be honored together as they all fought and died together to safeguard the people of this valley. Both Arthur and Connor believed that it would be a good way to establish new friendly relations between their two people. There were a lot of people from the village and the Order presiding as well as all the men from Camelot and a few of the deceased friends and family looking on as well.

Arthur went and stepped forward to speak a few words.

"Tonight, we are here to bid farewell to all the brave men who fell today in honor. They gave their lives to protect everyone here from Vortigern's evil. Whether they belong to Camelot or Albion, we are here to honor them all together. Despite what differences our peoples have, the one thing that we all shared today was the need to defend the people of this valley and protect our loved ones. They all fought together with bravery and compassion in their hearts and should all have the respect that they have earned. As both a king and a knight, I salute the character of these men whether they be mine or yours. I hope that you all feel the same respect for them all as we send them off as the heroes that they were."

The people were silent as they took in the King's words. Suddenly, Sir Cade of the Order of the Bear, started clapping. As he clapped, two more next to him also clapped and soon, the entire crowd joined in. Arthur looked at all of the people clapping for him and even caught sight of Kalen, Kay, Galahad and even Flint had joined in. Malcolm was even clapping a little politely with the rest. Connor was smiling and bowed his head to him. Merlin stepped next to him and clapped him on his shoulder.

"Great words Arthur."

"I spoke what I felt," he shrugged. "These men died to protect everyone here and they deserve my deepest respect for that."

"Then let's send them off. _**Forbearne**_." He raised his arms out and the pyres lit at once. The people of the Order and the Knights all raised their swords out in salute to their fallen men while everyone else bowed their heads or broke into tears.

* * *

Over in Albion that night, Merlin was speaking with Connor, Lionel and Kalen. They discussed many things and by the time they were done, Merlin stepped out of the Manor and roared into the sky. He wasn't happy with his dragon now with this new thing that he kept from him.

"Merlin," Connor said stepping out after him. "Calm down."

"Calm down? I'll kill him. Why didn't Kilgharrah want me to know about Madoc or the other dragon eggs?"

"I don't know. He said it was best if you didn't know yet. He didn't want to risk the wrong people in Camelot to know about the dragons. They're still pretty helpless."

Merlin looked off at Lionel who was holding the sack with four more dragon eggs. He also looked off to see Madoc close by with Emrys resting a little bit aways. At the sight of Emrys something clicked in Merlin's mind. Last year, when Kilgharrah saved Connor, he had said that he owed him greatly. Connor, Kalen and Lionel had explained all about how they found each other on Eire. Lionel had escaped to that land with all the dragon eggs he could get to and went into hiding. The sack he used to keep them safe had a protection ward cast over it to keep others from sensing the eggs so that they wouldn't be hunted down to be misused or destroyed. Connor had kept the Old Religion tradition alive and named Lionel as the Keeper of the Dragons as he was already strongly protective of them. Connor felt there was no one better even though Lionel had no magic or battle experience, he gave him that title. That must be why Kilgharrah felt he owed Connor.

The beat of wings suddenly sounded and Kilgharrah touched down on the ground. "Is there something wrong young warlock. Your call seemed agitated."

"Can't imagine why...with who our guests are." he said pointing to Madoc and then to Lionel.

Kilgharrah looked at the young dragon and at Lionel. His golden eyes focused on him. "Desmond. Good to see you again."

Merlin looked at Lionel confused. Desmond?

"It's Lionel now Kilgharrah. For all purposes, Desmond is gone."

"Kilgharrah," Merlin interrupted. "Do you mind telling me why you never told me about the Order finding more dragon eggs? As the last dragonlord, I think that this was something I should've been told about."

Kilgharrah's golden eyes closed as he seemed to be trying to find the right words. "I had my reasons Merlin."

"Great...what were they?"

"It wasn't time."

"Time? Why not?"

"Because you had other things on your mind at that time Merlin. I didn't want to add more to it until you were ready. Besides, Connor and Kalen assured me that Lionel had Madoc and the other four eggs perfectly guarded and that they were safe so I didn't see any need to involve you at this point."

"Well, it looks like I'm involved now. Turns out Madoc went and saved mine and Arthur's lives today." He went on to explain what happened and Kilgharrah was wide eyed at the whole thing.

"Impressive. Madoc seems to be quite the powerful dragon. I wonder how he'll be when he reached his full size."

"Merlin," Connor said breaking up their two way conversation. "Now that you're here and Madoc is as well. Could you speak to him? I want to know why Madoc was out of sorts the last few weeks. That's why I was gone. Lionel knew there was something up with him and I couldn't find the root of it myself."

Merlin looked over at Connor and Lionel and then gave them a nod. He walked to the red dragon and bent down to be at level with his eyes. "_Madoc. Madoc, do you understand me_?" he asked in the dragon tongue.

Madoc opened his eyes and gazed back at him. "_Yes...I understand_."

"He understands me," he said back to his friends before turning back to the dragon. "_What's been wrong with you lately_? _You've been worrying a lot of people_."

"_I'm sorry. I've just been feeling a lot of trouble over in this land for the last few weeks. Something terrible happened here_."

Merlin remembered that Connor left a little before they had first arrived here in Albion so he guessed Madoc must've sensed the invasion. "_Why did you save Arthur back there when he was under attack? I can understand why you saved me, we're kin but why Arthur?_"

"_I-I don't know. I just knew I had to help him. Something inside him was calling out to me_."

"_What? What called to you_?"

"_I don't know. It was almost like...meeting a long lost friend_."

"So," said Lionel. "What did he say?"

* * *

Arthur settled in close to Gwen in their bed to try and rest after this long and tiring day.

"Arthur?" asked Gwen.

"Hmm?"

"Do you have the feeling that we've forgotten something?"

Arthur thought on it for a few seconds before he yawned. "If we did, I'm sure it can wait until morning. It's just been a very long day. If it didn't come to us immediately, it's probably not too important."

"Okay," Gwen said settling in.

Over in the big meeting tent, all the knights, still bound by Merlin's spell at their feet, began to sleep where they stood. Their throats tired from calling out to try to get someone's attention.

* * *

**End of Chapter 23**

A/N: Hope you liked that last bit. I wanted to end this chapter on humor than a classic cliffhanger like the others. The next chapter will focus on word getting back to Vortigern about this failed attack and he doesn't take it well but even though the battle has been won, the war is far from over.


	24. Alliances

**Dangers in the Path to Destiny**

A/N: I see that many of you want Merlin to hatch the other four eggs but that won't be happening just yet. There is still too much going on to risk having newborn dragons going about all at once. Also, people have asked about the explanation of Aithusa's disappearance which will be explained in this chapter. Series five never gave an explanation of why Merlin and Kilgharrah didn't notice Aithusa in trouble when she was a captive of Sarrum. Although, I had someone else in mind beside Sarrum to be behind it this time.

* * *

_There are plagues, and there are victims, and it's the duty of good men not to join forces with the plagues._

~ Albert Camus

* * *

Chapter 24: Alliances

The knights were found by Arthur's servant Gale when he went to straighten up the meeting tent in the morning. They had been sleeping, dead on their feet. Two of the sorcerers in the village had been called in to free them at Arthur's request but Arthur refused to excuse them from their duties for the day. He explained that their discomfort was the least that could happen if any of them did anything to shatter the Albion's trust in Camelot or even looked at Merlin the wrong way.

Arthur was right now in that same tent with Guinevere, the Lady Vivian, Lady Elena and Queen Annis discussing everything with one another from filling Vivian in on what has happened and her telling them of her father's movements.

"This is very disturbing news." Arthur said rubbing the sides of his head with his palms before standing and walking about. "Vortigern actually defeated and claimed all the lands of the Five Kingdoms in under a month. I never would've believed it possible."

"They tore through all our defenses like they were made of weak cloth," said Annis. "My kingdom, Olaf's, Arthur's and even Lord Godwyn's lands. All of them in Vortigern's hands."

Elena shifted in her seat. "Let's not forget that with the deaths of Kings Alined and Bayard, Vortigern will now have control of their kingdoms as well. Their knights will undoubtedly pledge support to him now that he is the sole ruler of a new growing power." She wiped a tear from her eye before it could fall. "There's also no telling what he and those Thorns of his have done to my father. He could be dead now for all I know."

Guinevere reached over and took her hand and began to rub it in an affectionate manner. "Elena, don't give up hope. I know what it like to want to lose hope after losing your father but I knew he wouldn't want me to be drowning in sorrow over him. Your father wouldn't want you to be either. Whether he is still alive or not, he knows that you have to carry on for the sake of your people. You can't let him down now."

Elena still had some tears in her eyes but quickly wiped them away and gave her a small grin. "Thank you Guinevere," she said with a bit of a sniffle. "You're right...my people are counting on us and if..._it_ really has happened then I need to be there for them more than before."

"My father knows the landscapes of our land well," said Vivian. "so he'll know the best places to stay out of sight from Vortigern's forces. He's trying to keep the hope alive for our kingdom as much as he can."

"He won't be alone," said Arthur facing all of them. "Despite all the strife we've faced, we managed to come here and band together. But...as we saw yesterday, the only real way to overcome the power of Vortigern's men is with the help of Albion and their Order of the Bear. I admit, in the past, I would never put any trust in a sorcerer, ever. I'm sure that we've all had our own personal reasons not to. But yesterday, I and my men, put enough trust to fight side by side with a batallion of them against the Vikings, the Thorns and their creatures. Even a dragon came to my aid when it had no real reason to. The enemy that seemed so invincible and unbeatable just last week just became as engaging as any other invading foe." _And I was even ready to put my own life on the line to save the life of one who I'm happy to call my friend_, he added silently.

"Yes," Annis said. "but Arthur, can we really trust them?"

"At this point, I think that we all can without a doubt. Clearly, I think we can all agree that we know that the Albions didn't owe us any favors at all. They didn't have to let us stay on their land like this. They could very easily have just kicked us out or worse, but they didn't. As much as a good many of them despise us, they still didn't. Malcolm definitely has no love for any one of us but he still gave us shelter. Even when we were bitter enemies last year, Lord Connor still showed my men, my wife and I mercy. He may have had his own reasons for doing that but he still did. That should tell us enough there." Annis, Elena and Vivian couldn't help but think how it might've been if the situation was reversed. Would any of them had been as considerate. "I for one will always be grateful to them. But that's not the real problem. The real issue is...if they can trust us?"

The five of them just stayed there in silence for who knows how long pondering the answer to that question.

* * *

Connor was sitting in the dining room with Galahad, Kay and Malcolm eating breakfast and having a closed meeting. Connor was being filled in on everything that had happened from when Arthur and his men first arrived.

"I'm impressed Malcolm. I mean, you of all people allowing them to stay. I know that couldn't have been easy, believe me."

Malcolm shrugged as he swallowed some eggs. "Oh, I do. I may despise Arthur and everything about where he comes from, but I was the regent leader of Albion and its principles first. Unlike he and his father, I'm no hippocrite." he said before taking a drink of water.

"Well, all the same, thank you. All of you. Nice to see that you never prove that my faith in you all is wrong."

"I should hope not," said Kay cutting a piece of sausage with his fork. "I'm glad that you got my cousin Kent to come here."

"Got him? Kay, he wouldn't stay away. He wants to ensure that Vortigern is stopped just as much as anybody. He knows the kind of terror that sates a Tregor better than anyone. Travis too."

"And you also brought Bedivere?" asked Galahad. "I just hope he's as tough a fighter as his guts are. I know he wants payback on the Tregors for what they did to him, his family and his village. I just hope the boy doesn't let it go to his head."

"You don't have to worry about that. I spoke to some of the celts and they assured me that Bedivere has been put through his paces. His brother may not have been able to stop him from training so instead he made sure that Bedivere was put through his paces. They tell me he's become a good and level headed warrior. That's good enough for me."

Galahad was over studying his toast. "Well...if his fellow celts and his brother feel that way about him then I guess he'll be okay to fight with us."

"Speaking of fighting with us," Connor said after taking a sip of water. "Arthur tells me that he approached you all about forming an alliance against Vortigern. Told me of your decision of saying no."

The three of them stopped eating and faced Connor unflinchingly. It was Malcolm who answered for them all. "We did. We thought it wasn't a good idea."

"I see," Connor said before putting his own fork down. "Honestly, I can understand. I mean, before yesterday, I would've backed your decision full heartedly, I would. We spent years preparing for the day we would inevitably have to fight against Camelot. And they spent years striking against the slightest bit of magic in the air. Naturally, trust is going to be the main problem."

"But," said Kay.

Connor gave him a small smile before continuing. "But, I think that with yesterday's developments, maybe there is some room for trust to start building. I spoke with Arthur yesterday and it seems as if he met with resistance on the idea of helping our patrols and village conscripts defend the village. A handful of his knights actually insisted that they focus on just setting up a perimeter defense of their camp and leave the village's fate up to us. So...he had Merlin jinx them to stay rooted at that tent."

"What?" the three of them gasped out.

"Wait," said Kay. "What did Merlin do to them?"

"Transformed the leg plates and foot plates into solid stone to keep them stuck there."

This actually made Kay choke a little in amusement. "Oh...I would've LOVED to have seen that."

"Me too," said Galahad.

Connor turned over to Malcolm who stayed silent through that. "I guess you were wrong when you suggested that Arthur would turn around when the idea of our defense became an unpopular turn for him."

"Perhaps." he said. "I may just have been wrong about him on that. I'll admit that. But, it doesn't mean I'm ready to trust him with my life."

"What about with the ones in the village? If his knights didn't provide the cover they did when they did, there could've been great casualties there yesterday before Galahad's reinforcements arrived."

Malcolm let his face fall into his two palms as he rubbed his eyes through his closed eyelids. "I suppose so." he said finally. "Merlin did point out that even though we had beaten the odds like this against us, it still took us years and good men to do so. I don't want to have to go through that again, for any of our people. Whether, I like it or not, we need Arthur and his allies and he has shown that Camelot can be capable of working with us. However, I want it said, loud and clear, that as long as I'm alive, I will never fully trust him. Only if he dies before me will I admit that he truly was worthy of my trust."

Malcolm's words seemed a little specific to Connor. But, at any rate, he knew that he had given his support for an alliance. Not wholeheartedly, but still.

"What about you two? Galahad? Kay? Where do you two stand?"

Kay shrugged. "If they can respect us enough to let us fight as ourselves and not order us like thugs then I can stand with them."

"Galahad?" Connor asked again.

"Last night, the people showed support for Arthur after he honored both his men and ours. If they are ready to be behind him...then so can I. I was already coming to respect Arthur, as a warrior and wise leader but still not ours or mine. For the last year, Merlin has been telling us of Arthur's potential to be a fair and good man for everyone. It seems as if that man is finally reaching to the surface. Now that he has, maybe he can be one that we could pledge our support to now."

Connor nodded. "Yes. Granted, when I first met Arthur, I could see that he had more of his father in him than his mother. Now, it seems that his mother's heart is starting to shine over that of his father's selfish one." He gazed out the window as it faced the direction to look our into the city. "We should ask for Arthur."

"I'll send a messenger immediately," said Galahad.

"No need. I'll go myself. Finish your breakfast while I'm out." Connor eyes flashed gold before his body glowed slightly and then he vanished in his seat.

"I never get tired of seeing that," said Malcolm before he picked up his fork to finish eating.

* * *

Merlin got up from bed and stretched himself out. He'd never felt so tired before after he'd gotten out of bed. One thing that he didn't miss about being Arthur's servant was having to see to his long list of chores especially after having the day he had yesterday. He'd never had a battle like the one he had against Mordred. Mordred's power was formidable indeed and Merlin guessed he would have a hard enough time if he didn't try to not get so close to his attacks to avoid the emotional poisoning from the taken souls. He got up and stretched as he went to the window. From what he could see, it was close to noon which further amplified the fact that it was a hard battle. He saw Madoc and Kilgharrah interacting with Lionel close by. He couldn't tell which of the three were more happy.

Merlin got himself dressed up in his old clothes complete with his neckerchief and went out to meet them.

"So that's why he would make those sounds?" said Lionel. "I can't believe it was that simple."

"It's never easy to care for a dragon when you have no way of understanding their speech but you have done very well. Madoc has told me that he has the greatest respect for you."

"Don't try and flatter me Kilgharrah."

"Wow," said Merlin stepping into their sights. "I can see why Connor likes you. He's not a fan of flattery either."

"Neither are you," said Lionel. "Sorry about the praise yesterday but it was just so long since I'd seen one of you before. I honestly thought the dragonlords were gone forever. But with you, there is still a chance."

"Well then...as the last dragonlord, how about I go and hatch Madoc some playmates. I also know of another who would want more friends around."

"No," Lionel said shaking his head. "Not yet Merlin."

He raised his eyebrows at that. "Why not?"

"Too dangerous. This land has too many people that would abuse or hurt the dragons. Even for Madoc, it might be too risky."

"But with both you and me, we can easily watch over them."

"For how long Merlin?" he said sounding a little tired. "Madoc...I've kept close watch over him for the last near 7 years. However, he's a dragon. He's meant to be free, not tied down. But there are too many people out there that would seek to hurt him and until a dragon reaches full size, they are vulnerable to mortal weapons and treatments."

"It's okay though," Merlin said not understanding Lionel's paranoia. "Kilgharrah could watch over them. Just like with Aithusa."

"Aithusa?"

"A dragon I hatched over two years ago. She's been in Kilgharrah's protection this whole time. Right Kilgharrah?" He looked to his friend to see that he seemed to be avoiding his gaze. "Kilgharrah?"

* * *

Connor had appeared right outside Camelot's camp and he went to Arthur's tent and told him that he was inviting him as well as the other rulers with him to discuss a formal alliance. Arthur thanked him for the chance before he saw Connor disappear.

Arthur, Guinevere, Gaius, Queen Annis, Lady Elena, Lady Vivian, as well as Leon, Tristan, Elyan, Percival and Gwaine were marching down the familiar main path in Albion to the Lord's Manor. Annis, Elean and Vivian were being escorted by Arthur's men without any of their own. Their men insisted on coming to help protect them but they insisted that they wouldn't need to. Arthur's men would be enough and they were going to speak of an alliance so they didn't need to many soldiers to be present to send the wrong message. As they headed for the manor, they were slightly amused when Vivian was awestruck at the beauty of the city. She constantly pointed out things like statues in the cross sections or of a random act of magic someone was using whether it was doing a common chore or a child playing around.

When they reached the gates of the Manor, they started to open before they could say anything. The guards had said that they were told to let them in as soon as they arrived as Connor was expecting all of them. Connor was sitting in his chair at the main hall dais with Malcolm, Galahad and Kay sitting in their places. Mysteriously, the chair at Connnor's left was vacant and Galahad was sitting in the chair further left of it while Malcolm sat at Connor's right while Kay sat in the one right of Malcolm. There were all in their Order robes

When they stopped in front of them, Connor stood up from his chair. "Good to see all of you. Annis, Elena, Vivian, we have yet to meet formally. I am Connor, the Lord of Albion."

Elena and Vivian bowed to him but Annis seemed a little shocked. "I'm sorry," she said when she seemed to realize that she had stayed still for too long. "I am just a little surprised. You look much younger than I pictured. I mean, Arthur did explain that you were just a bit older than him but you still look so young."

"Oh, it's actually one of the perks of delving into magic. The power of the Old Religion actually slows our aging slightly. For those of us who are born with our power or begin studying as young children, it starts usually when we reach of age."

"Really?" asked Arthur. He didn't know that.

"Yes. I mean, look at your friend Gaius here. For someone his age, he seems to be able to take and walk away from things that people his age shouldn't due to the magic that he has harnessed."

Everyone looked at Gaius like he was a specimen for a few moments before he coughed. "I'm just tougher than I look," he simply said.

"Anyway," Connor cut in. "I think we came here to discuss something other than people looking younger or older than they are."

"Yes, we did." said Annis. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you Connor."

"Thank you my lady." Connor then sat back down after he bowed to the three maidens. "My friends and I have discussed this issue up and down. In the end, we've decided that it is completely necessary to ally our forces together against Vortigern." Just then, three more figures stepped into the main hall. Two of them were Welsh lords judging from their colors and the last one was that man Arthur saw on Malcolm's Chimera in the leather armor. "Oh good," Connor said when he caught sight of them. "I want you all to meet some friends of ours from Eire. These are Lords Travis and Kent."

Travis had dark blond hair with some red highlights at his sides and front of his head. He looked to be in his mid-thirties. Kent on the other hand had deep black hair but it was very short and he seemed to be a bit older.

"Lord Kent," said Kay. "is my cousin. Travis is a lifelong friend and ally of his. They've been our allies since the beginning of our history with the Tregors."

"And this," Connor said pointing to the last one. "is Bedivere. His older brother is the high chief of the Southern Celtic Tribes."

Arthur had never met a celtic warrior before. He heard stories about them from his childhood. It was said that their lives were very simple but their warriors were tough. This ones clothing emphasized that as did his young age. He was even younger than him. "It's nice to meet all of you." He went to shake all three of their hands.

"They've brought a good contingent of soldiers to assist in fighting off Vortigern." Connor explained.

"Yes," said Travis. "Vortigern may not be on Eire anymore but if he is left unchecked then it's only a matter of time before he turns his attention on all of us back home. We're still in the process of rebuilding and fixing all the damage that the Tregors did to our peoples. We don't need him to start trouble up again."

Kent nodded in agreement. "We gathered our men to help the Albions fight him off. Granted, I imagined that if we ever did come to this land, it would be to fight you all on Albion's behalf. But yet, here we are...getting ready to join up to fight the last of the Tregors."

"Yes," said Arthur. "I know the feeling of being somewhere you never thought you would see yourself before. I think it's safe to say that all of us are feeling that right here, right now." He then turned to Connor. "So, we truly are in an alliance?"

Travis, Kent and Bedivere looked off towards Connor for his final word. "We are. Granted that you know that we do have rules. Three of them."

"Of course," Arthur said. He knew that there was going to be something like that. After all, it was still too early to really come at each other with open arms. "What is it?"

"First, we want you to know that magic comes into play alot in our plans and activities before, during and after battles. We don't want anything to hinder our men when it does."

"I understand." Arthur could allow some headway with that. He guessed from how they prepared against his army last year and prepared to treat their men that magic was a main factor. "That will be no problem."

"Second, I want you to understand that my men follow only my orders and the orders of their officers. I don't want your men to think they can bully mine and vice versa."

"Okay," Arthur said slowly. When it came to alliances between kings and their armies, that was always understood. He didn't think Connor would make something that was common knowledge a condition. "What's the last?"

"I want you all to treat anyone from your own men who do anything against mine as strictly as you do should we be any other kingdom or power."

That was it? Arthur didn't understand why Connor was making these conditions emphasized. These were naturally the conditions of any alliance made. He was sure that this wasn't the first time Connor was in an alliance considering that he had formal alliances with these lords and the celtic tribes. He looked to the others and saw that they too were confused by Connor listing accepted rules as formal terms. Normally, terms were more self serviing then this. "That's it?" he asked trying to hold in his surprise.

"That's it." he said simply.

"Then, we find that all acceptable. It's no problem."

Connor stood and stepped over to him. Connor looked him up and down and brought his hand out. Arthur brought his out and shook it.

* * *

"What do you mean Aithusa is missing?"

Kilgharrah actually rolled his eyes at him. "I mean she is missing. I don't know where she is. She's been missing for about a year."

A year? "How is that possible? Weren't you watching her? I did leave her in your care."

"Yes. I know Merlin and I cared for her like a dragon should be cared for."

"What do you mean?"

"Merlin," Lionel said. "Didn't I just say that dragons are meant to be free."

"Yes, I know that."

"No, I don't think you quite understand. My old master told me all about dragons and their rites of passage. Kilgharrah simply was giving Aithusa hers."

"What rite of passage?"

Kilgharrah decided to explain it. "When dragons are born. They are watched over for their first few weeks until they are strong enough to use their wings. Then they are left for two years while they fly to explore the world and bond with it and its magic. When Aithusa was ripe to fly, I followed tradition and let her go. I was always able to feel her presence, no matter what. Then, for some unknown reason, her presence was cut off from me. I scoured the land to try to find her but I haven't been able to locate her."

"How is that possible?"

"There are ways," said Lionel. "Dragons can be blocked off or even imprisoned with the right methods. I'm sure Uther used those methods on you when he kept you as his trophy example. I heard that he had you in chains. Chains no doubt that he took from the stores of the Bloodguard."

"Yes," he said cringing at the memory of being bound by those mystical irons. "Just as you cut off the right...and wrong people with placing the eggs in your warded pouch."

"So, someone of magic may have taken her?" Merlin asked.

"Or someone who has access to means of magical bindings like Uther did." finished Lionel.

Merlin just gripped his hips and huffed, hard. "And, why didn't you call me when this first happened Kilgharrah?"

"I told you Merlin. I felt that you had enough to deal with."

"You think that I had so much going on around me that there was nothing left to use on Aithusa's care?! Damnit Kilgharrah, Aithusa means a lot to me too."

"I realize that Merlin. It's just...this was my problem to fix."

Merlin nearly broke at the regret in Kilgharrah's tone. "My friend...every time that I needed your help, you always answered my call. What made you think that if you called me, I wouldn't have answered to help you?"

Kilgharrah just bowed his head and looked away from them. Merlin had never seen the Great Dragon cry before and it was something he was keen to see so he was happy that he had turned away. Yet, the questioned remained. Where was Aithusa?

* * *

Over in Wirtgernesburg, Vortigern was sitting majestically on his throne when his men began escorting a small party into it. They were bearing the mark of King Lot and Vortigern held in a smile when he saw one of them holding a rolled up scroll with no doubt a declaration of a pledge of allegiance.

When they were brought up to him, one of his Vikings gestured him to them. "King Vortigern of Wirtgernesburg."

They bowed to him and he gave them a curt nod. "To whom do I owe this pleasure to?"

"Sire," said the one with the scroll. "We are here on request of our ruler King Lot of Essitir."

"King Lot. Yes, I heard he took over when Cenred fell."

"That's correct sire."

"Well, why has Lot sent his messengers to me?"

"Oh. He sent this," he said holding up the scroll before opening it up and handing it to Vortigern.

He took it and read it silently to himself.

_King Vortigern, it has come to my understanding that you have swiftly conquered not only the Kingdom of Camelot but all the other kingdoms in the land save for my own. I first want to say that you have my deepest admiration for such a swift and strong conquest. There has been many a war raged in the land of Brition but you no doubt have made our history._

_My reign may be young but I do have knowledge of the workings of the others rulers and lords across these lands. You may find my expertise valuable in stabilizing your reign across this land. As for myself, I know that your forces greatly outnumber and outclass mine and it would be both foolish and counter productive in trying to fight you. I personally have no reason to do so in the first place. You have destroyed rulers who I am not in any way friends with, far from it actually. It would more beneficial to both of us if I were to join you in your quest to conquer your enemies. _

_As a token of good faith, I have something of a gift to present to you. I have heard rumors of the sorcerer known as Merlin who is at Arthur's side and of how he commands a dragon. It seems to me that to deal with a dragon, you need someone who also has a dragon of their own at their disposal. If I have peaked your interest, return your answer with my messenger post haste._

_King Lot_

Vortigern eyebrows rose at the last part. Another dragon? True, with the weapons still buried down in Camelot's former vaults, Merlin's dragon could be dealt with but it definitely wouldn't hurt to have one within his control. In fact, it might be just the edge he needed in guaranteeing the defeat of Connor and his Chimera. And if there was one already tamed under him, he could harness its soul afterwords to increase his strength.

"Well, it would seem that Lot's proposal is most appealing." he said raising his eyes up at Lot's men and refolding the scroll.

"So, you've accepted my king's offer King Vortigern?"

"I don't see why not. I already have most of this land already under my control. Lot's kingdom would be the last piece in having total dominion of this land before I move onto my greatest enemies. You're king is quite the intelligent man. I look forward to meeting with him."

"And he you sire. You've conquered whole kingdoms within a month and are building a new one from the rubble of the one that most have claimed as the strongest here. You haven't even lost a battle here."

"Yes, I haven't."

Just then, the doors opened rather loudly and Mordred came in a little frantically. "Sire," he said a little out of breath. "Something's happened."

Vortigern spared him a glance before turning to his guests. "It seems that a problem with my fortress' final construction has now come up. Luckily, most of the guest rooms have been built and furnished." He turned to one of his guards. "Please take them to a set of rooms for the night while I see to this business."

"Yes sire," he said before he escorted them out of the throne room.

Vortigern waited until the doors were shut before he cracked. "Mordred. Why the hell are you here?! I thought I told you and Angus to patrol for Vivian to come to you as she tried to head to Albion."

"That's just it sire. Angus is dead." he added slowly and gingerly.

"What was that?"

Mordred laid it all out for him. The plan Angus had, the diversion being successful and the attack on the village in Albion's territory and the arrival of Camelot's forces as well as Arthur and Emrys. Then he told them of the arrival of the new dragon, Lord Connor and his Chimera and finally, Angus' demise at Arthur's hand. As Mordred told him the tale, Vortigern's breathing became harder and faster. At the end of the story, he was shaking in very hard anger. He was seeing red. His hand went to his sword and unsheathed it. Mordred's eyes widened a little and he actually made a step back when he started to raise it a little. Vortigern clenched his teeth and then turned and rammed the sword into the chest of a nearby servant.

"A good servant serves in his master's best interest even if the loss of his life falls into that interest. Don't worry Mordred," he said pulling out his blade from the servant's chest and cleaning it off on the dead man's clothes. "I don't blame you. I blame Angus for this." His voice was steady and calm again. "Unfortunately he's dead so I can't scold him for going over my head. I had my reasons for not engaging them now and he knew that."

"He felt that your enemies that managed to escape there or were escaping there were seeing Albion as a safe place from you and felt there shouldn't be any place that they should call safe from any of us."

He nodded before he resheathed his sword. "I see a mess here," he said to no one in particular. The other servants in the room rushed to clean out the body quickly before they suffered his wrath. "However, it seems even in his death Angus at least gave me something to work with. Now I know that there is another dragon on the board here. If they had kept it a surprise from us then they would've had a good edge up their sleeve but its now lost." He shrugged when he saw Mordred's confused face. "You have to work with what you have."

"I see." Mordred said bowing to him. "What now though sire? Now that there has been victory over us. A victory where it only happened when they allied with Albion's sorcerers, Camelot and Albion are sure to solidify an alliance."

"Unfortunately," he said going to one of his windows. "But, we still have the advantage of numbers. And, if what Lot tells me is true, we may be able to answer one of their advantages of us perfectly. As for Merlin, it's actually good you came here. I was planning on sending for you next week anyway."

"Vortigern?"

"Follow me."

They walked up the finely polished corridors corridors of his castle. They weren't all fully furnished yet but they were all cut to perfection. They entered Vortigern's room. It was big and decorated with all his belongings from his command tent including a giant bed with the finest silk coverings and fluffy pillows. he went to a chest at the foot of it and pulled out a bundle wrapped in a pale green cloth.

"Your new weapon was finished only yesterday. This should give you an edge over that miscreant sorcerer of Arthur's."

He unwrapped it and Mordred was practically rocking by the balls of his feet. Vortigern removed the covering to reveal a weapon unlike any Vortigern had seen. There was a sword's blade in silver with rune markings carved into the center of the blade on both sides. The hilt of the sword was double the size of a normal one and the bottom had a jewel. Not just any jewel, but a slightly cut crystal prism. It was the Crystal of Nealthid.

"What?" Mordred whispered as he lightly touched it.

"You like it?"

Mordred took the weapon and handled it. It was lighter than he expected it would be. He swung it around a little to get a feel of it before he brought it down for a slice imagining he was cutting down Emrys...When he did, the crystal let out a blue glow before the blade sent out a wave that shot out to collide and destroy Vortigern's dresser that was right in front of Mordred. It was reduced to ashes.

"What?' Mordred said as he looked at what he'd done. "How did it..."

Vortigern folded his arms. "Well, it seems you have a lot to learn about using your new weapon...and you owe me a new dresser."

* * *

**End of Chapter 24**

A/N: The alliance has now been made between Camelot and Albion. But it seems that one is coming along for their enemies as well. A reminder, my profile now contains a poll for ideas for the next story. So far, there is a tie for the third idea to cut. Go ahead and vote. Also, if any of you have any idea about what I should name Mordred's new weapon, please don't be afraid to tell me. I haven't come up with one yet. And about it, it could do a lot more than simply answer to Mordred's subconscious commands.


	25. The Sorcerer of Darkness

**Dangers in the Path to Destiny**

A/N: I see that two of my ideas are still tied for the cutting room floor. Any of you who still want to vote, go to my profile and vote on the poll for what you want to see coming up in the next story. I can use all the help in choosing what to put in or not. There are a few chapters left in this story now.

* * *

_Everywhere the human soul stands between a hemisphere of light and another of darkness; on the confines of the two everlasting empires, necessity and free will_

~ Thomas Carlyle

* * *

Chapter 25: The Sorcerer of Darkness

The news that Camelot and its allies and Albion and its allies were now in a formal alliance was met with both rejoice and hostility. Both sides displayed trace amounts of both but Arthur and Connor made it clear that this decision was final. They insisted that their energy should now be better focused on worrying about their enemies then about their allies. The next few days had been filled with meetings on various subjects relating to the coming war. Arthur and the other rulers had met with Lord's Kent and Travis along with the Celts to fill them in on the layouts of their lands and discussed places that Vortigern would've placed a military presence. A few scouts had been sent out to gather more information on the condition of the people in the kingdoms now under Vortigern's control. Connor and Merlin also met a few times to discuss magical measures that they could put in place to assist the knights and the soldiers belonging to the rulers to help protect them from the Thorns and their power. Connor also told Merlin that he was currently having something made for Merlin to help protect him to the fullest ability which he did appreciate.

Galahad, the military head of the Order, was meeting with Leon who was the military head of the Knights. They were currently in Albion's training field looking at and discussing the training of the men who had volunteered from the village and the city. Leon was suggesting to him that some of their knights could help show them sword techniques.

"You mean you teach them?" Galahad said with a raised eyebrow. "Why?"

"I'm not trying to insult you or your friends Galahad," he said quickly. "Far from it but my fellow knights and I have more experience with fighting against brute strength. The Vikings were fierce during that battle and a good many of your men fell under their strength."

"We do have our advantages over brute strength Leon."

"True, you and your men have expertise that we don't have but you did tell me that not everyone in your army has magic or wields a magical weapon. And, I don't think you or your men that do will always be able to use the powers in you or your weapons all the time right? As for us, no matter what, we always keep our guard and stamina up no matter what kind of foe we're fighting and we could help your conscripts do the same. Maybe even give some of you some help...if you would want it. We have the advantage in that area."

Galahad could see the logic in what Leon was trying to say. It did make strategic sense. After a few seconds, he didn't know what came over him but he started to laugh a little to himself.

Leon was sure surprised. "Something I said?" he asked after a few seconds of it.

Galahad wiped a tear away as he settled down. "Sorry. I am, it's just...the irony that's getting me."

"Irony? What irony?"

"I find it ironic that you and your fellow knights were set to fight against magic whenever you found it yet it's us that are the ones who have the skills to really fight against it. I don't know, it's funny to me for some reason."

"You do know, it wasn't always about fighting magic with us. We had a good amount of bandits and mercenaries to deal with too."

"Yes, I know. But whenever the topic of magic would come up, it was always that way."

"Yeah...I guess it was." They were silent for a moment. The both of them just looking out at the people training. "Galahad," he said finally. "I never did apologize for sounding ungrateful when we came back here."

"Forget it. It's history. I'm over it."

"Well, I'm not. I was out of line, ungrateful for your help and I'm sorry."

Galahad just stared at him when he finished and nodded. "Well, maybe it might be good to share your expertise. But right now, we should get to the Manor. That meeting is going to start soon."

* * *

Arthur and Connor were in the Manor along with their closest knights or order members discussing what transpired during the battle in a war council. Merlin was also in the meeting and he privately thought it was going well, at this young phase of their alliance. They were right now discussing the topic of the beasts that the Thorns had under their control and the new trouble that the Order seemed to have against them during the battle.

"It sounds like the Thorns are trying to shake things up a bit when it comes to battling us," said Connor. "I don't ever remember Mab's gargoyles having their own weapons before."

"That's because they didn't." said Galahad. He looked over to Arthur and his knights. "The gargoyles didn't use those spears when they attacked your city, did they?"

"No." Arthur answered. "They had just relied on their teeth and claws during battle. However, that did seem to be enough."

"Yet, it seems as if they are recognizing that those aren't enough when it comes to us."

"Galahad's right," Flint said thinking back to the tough resistance that he and Kalen faced when fighting those two towering ogres. "The gargoyles may be strong and fast but once they were in the range of a magical assault, they've fallen as easily as any other opponent."

"And Vortigern knows it," said Kalen.

"They brought in some ogres too," said Kay. "Ogres may be strong but they still are a little dumb. But these actually had something that made them able to fight against even our magic."

"Against magic?" said Merlin. He'd seen those beasts before and, while they were big and strong brutes, Kay was right in saying they were still brainless brutes that an easy spell or two could easily topple. "Are you sure?"

"He's right," said Kalen. "One of them actually managed to hack away at a few attacks I fired at it and it managed to cancel them out. Luckily, we actually managed bring one of them back."

"Wait. What do you mean cancel them out?" asked Elyan. "Shouldn't your magic have been able to conquer them easily? Gaius, didn't your books say that Ogres were vulnerable to magic?"

"Well, it did, and they are," he said remembering his old texts that were now lost to him. "But its safe to say that the Thorns are looking to overcome the weaknesses in their forces before forcing their hold on the Albions. Unlike the other kingdoms, Albion is crawling with warriors who know how to use and harness magic to use in battle. It's safe to say that the attack was used merely as a test."

A test? Connor didn't want to think that the Thorns had left with answers in how to overcome them. "Kalen," Connor said getting them back on track. "You said that you found something?"

"Yes, well, Flint and I did. Bring it in," he called out.

Suddenly Flint and Kay went to the side and carried up something wrapped in a bundle. They put it on the table and then unwrapped it to reveal a giant double bladed axe. "This is what that ogre wielded against us and it used it to combat against our magic."

"They didn't use axes during the attack in Camelot," said Leon. "They used thick wooden clubs."

"That's right," said Arthur. "However, against you they're using these now. I take it that their clubs never stood a chance against your magic before?"

"No." said Galahad. "Their clubs have always been as useful as twigs against the Order's magic."

The axe was large but still seemed ordinary to mostly everyone at first glance. However, Gaius was the first to point out something on the inner parts of the blades. "Those seem to be spell runes." he took a magnifying glass and started to go over them.

Arthur focused his vision and saw that these scratches actually seemed to be small symbols but he couldn't make out what they were to mean. "Spell runes?"

"Yes, judging from what I can make out...it seems that they are meant to ward against magic."

"You're sure?" Connor asked.

Gaius had his gaze leave the runes as he faced Connor with a somber look to his face. "I'm afraid so."

Connor levitated the axe off the table and stood of a little bit aways. "Kalen, you say that the ogre used this to block some of your spells?"

"That's right."

"Show me right now." He said putting the blade in front of him like a shield.

Kalen asked if he was serious and Connor nodded. Kalen stood a little bit aways and conjured a little bit of lightning in his hands. He focused on Connor before let it loose at him. Everyone watching backed a step as it collided with the axe but calmed when they saw it faze out before it could hit Connor beyond it.

"That looks like what I did with my sword." Arthur said to Merlin.

Merlin saw that there was a bit of smoke rising from where Kalen's spell hit the blade of the axe. "Maybe. Thankfully it doesn't seem to be in the same league as Excalibur."

Connor stroked his chin as he gave the axe a look over himself. "Interesting...Flint."

"Yes?" he perked up.

"I want you to take this axe to the head smith. Ask him to run some tests on it. I want to know if there are any other hidden surprises in it. Tell him to report any discoveries he makes immediately." he ordered.

"Of course. But why? We've already seen what it can do."

"The last thing we need is to make assumptions and then have ourselves on the recieving ends of a surprise attack from these weapons."

"I see." Flint wrapped the axe up and he disappeared with it in a small ball of flame that seemed to slightly startle Arthur and his men..

"Okay," Connor said hardly fazed by it. "We've covered changes we've seen in Mab's gargoyles and Nemain's ogres. The last beasts that are left are Angus' hippogriffs. Did anyone notice anything out of the ordinary with them?"

"I did." said Kay. "I fought against one and it wasn't an easy fight."

That surprised Merlin. Kay had destroyed three with one spell back when they were heading to Albion. "What? I saw you during our battle with Angus before. They were no match for you."

"I know. I used the same spell against the one I fought and it stood against it and batted my whirlwind away."

Arthur reached into his pocket. "Could this be why?" He held out a what looked like a small red jewel attached to a thin chain. "That hippogriff that Mordred let loose on me. I slayed it and it had this wrapped around it's neck."

"Come to think of it," Kay said thinking back to his fight with that beast. "I do remember catching a glint of something in the feathers of that hippogriff's neck."

Merlin felt something within that jewel. It wasn't a strong feeling but it did feel threatening like the gem wanted to stand in his way. He also was feeling a slight chill coming from it, it almost felt familiar. Tristan eyed the jewel before snatching it away from Arthur and bringing it closer to his eye.

"Hey...I've seen these before."

"You have?" Arthur asked still a little shocked from his grab.

"It was...back in my smuggling days. These are magical shielding pendants. They could grant whoever, or whatever is wearing it an immunity to magic for a short while."

Another form of magical resistance. Merlin was seeing a dangerous pattern here. He guessed that's why it felt like the stone almost wanted to stand in his way. "Magical immunity? I guess that's how Kay's attacks lessened in their effectiveness against the hippogriff he was fighting if it had one just like it."

"I remember I stumbled onto these when my men and I helped ourselves to an executed sorcerer's belongings, he had about a few dozen. But they didn't sell very well and my men ended up just giving a few of them off as gift jewelry to woman they tried to charm."

"Why not?" asked Arthur. "If they could grant resistance to magic then I'm sure that many people, my father included, would've paid a lot of gold for them."

"Your father nearly did," Tristan said. "Except, in order to have effect, they have to have magic imbued into them by a sorcerer. The more magic he empowers them with then the stronger the magic that the pendant can shield against." he said slamming the thing onto the table. "Since they were powerless unless a sorcerer gave them power, they were seen as useless and we practically had to give them away for nothing."

"Oh," said Merlin. "My guess is that the Thorns must've energized the stones with their own magic before they started the battle. I guess that explains why I'm getting a bad feeling from that thing. It's the Thorns' power from stolen souls."

"Still," said Kalen. "If that's the case then why haven't we run into these things before in our previous fights against the Tregors? They had the magic to use pendants like these so why didn't they use them before?"

"Because they didn't have them before," answered Gaius. "They got them from Uther's collection."

"What?" said Arthur. "Gaius, that makes no sense. If my father did have things like these pendants then he would've had them placed in the vaults and they were destroyed when the Thorns destroyed the castle."

"Not destroyed...buried. The vaults were already deep under the castle. They could easily survive the collapse of the castle." he said causing everyone in the room to slowly come to understand what Gaius was implying.

* * *

"This is getting more out of hand," Arthur said as he, Merlin, Gaius and his knights were slowly heading back to their camp. "Not only did these Thorns use my kingdom in the past for their own ends but even now they are using our efforts against us."

"It's not your fault Arthur," said Merlin. "Some of the things that were placed there were in fact dangerous and had to be kept in those vaults."

"And now Vortigern has full access to them. If this was the damage he could do with just a few pendants then what do you think will happen when he reaches those weapons?"

When they discovered that Vortigern and his men could have dug to the vaults under the castle's rubble, Kalen had told them something shocking. He informed them that after Uther and his men destroyed the Bloodguard, he had also taken many things from their keep. A few things were harmless like some chains, cages and some other magical relics to enhance and even protect from magic. However, that was just the good news. He explained that there were some powerful weapons also held there and that his former fallen comrades weapons had been taken as well and they were similar in nature to Galahad's sword. And unfortunately, they had been forged by magic so they could only be destroyed by magic and since Uther couldn't destroy them, he would've locked them away in the vaults instead.

"Arthur, Galahad insisted that the Order could deal with them," Leon said trying to calm his friend down. "He told me that this wouldn't be the first time they faced against a foe that used magical weapons."

"That may be true but it still doesn't change the fact that Vortigern and the Thorns still are finding ways to use our own efforts against us," he said not sounding any bit reassured.

Merlin shook his head. "Arthur, there's no real sense brooding about it at this point. The best we could do now is get ourselves ready to deal with the problem instead of blaming ourselves. Speaking of which, Connor and I have been talking and he asked if we could bring our army's chainmail and armor to their smiths so they could enchant them to be stronger. I told him I would see if you wanted to have their work put into the armor."

Using magic on the armor and mail of his men? On one hand, it sounded like a strategic advantage to have...but on the other hand, he was placing him and his men at the mercy of magic. He caught Merlin's eyes and saw that he was waiting on his final word. "What type of work would be done?"

"Well, Connor suggested that the magical smiths in Albion could make them more resistant to our enemy's steel and even place some wards on them to help protect us from the aftershock of the Thorns' power. It seemed like a good idea to me. Of course, it will be done only if you give your permission. If you choose not to then he'll respect your decision. I will too."

Arthur had a feeling that something like this would come around. He spent a few seconds dwelling on it before he remembered that he told his fellow rulers that he felt that he could trust the Order. He was being looked at as an example for putting faith in the Albions. It was time that he took a leap of faith and stood by what he claimed. "Okay, tell Connor and his smiths that they have my permission to help protect my army. I'll run the proposal by Annis and the others to see if they wish for the same. And...I'll leave you in charge of overseeing our new protections Merlin."

"Me? Really?" Arthur was leaving an important job like that to him? He was putting the welfare of him and his men in his hands. "You sure you want to leave an important duty to me?"

Arthur almost snorted at Merlin's surprise. "Don't let it go to your head Merlin. You're the best qualified for the job so it makes sense to give it to you. You have the magical knowledge and power to help Connor's smiths best protect us based on how we fight...considering I know that you did actually pay some attention to us during our training."

"But...by that logic, I'm the only one qualified for the job Arthur. There's no one else in Camelot's camp that fits."

"Exactly, which is why you shouldn't let it go to your head. You get it by default." he said with a smirk.

"So I don't even have a choice?"

"No."

Arthur couldn't believe that Merlin could still complain as much about duties he gave him as much as he did when he gave him chores. Merlin just rolled his eyes but he was still happy that Arthur was slowly coming to terms with this new alliance with Albion's sorcerers.

Before either of them could dwell on it any longer, there was a booming sound that they could actually feel through the air.

"What was that?" asked Percival.

Merlin suddenly felt a strong but dark presence nearby. It made his stomach drop when a rush of hard emotions came at him like a gust of wind. "I'm feeling a strong magical presence close by. It's starting to fill the air."

Gaius was feeling it a little himself. "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Perhaps its coming off one of the members of the Order. Someone must be training around here."

Then there was another boom from an explosion ahead that produced a visible tower of dust and smoke followed by some distant shouts. Arthur was growing more concerned. "Are you sure that's training? It sounds like a full scale battle is going on."

"I don't know," said Gwaine looking at the tower of smoke. "The Order goes through some intensive dueling skirmishes."

Suddenly they saw one of the celtic warriors fly a bit into the air before rolling a bit away. "That's not an Order member," Merlin said running off after that man. Arthur and his knights were right behind him. When Merlin reached the celt, he let out a small groan. "Are you okay?"

Suddenly there was another shout and Merlin looked up to see another celtic warrior falling back as a dark orb hit him in the chest. Merlin and the others could make out at least a dozen celts surrounding a lone man. However, while it did seem to be an intensive battle, it did truly seem to be training after all. There were a handful of Albions off to the side watching as well as Malcolm and Lionel. They were calmly watching the proceedings as these celts ganged up on this sorcerer. Arthur and Merlin recognized him to be that new sorcerer that had been with Connor during the battle, Dylan.

About a day after the alliance had been made, Arthur and Merlin had caught sight of him. Arthur had immediately recognized him from the memories that Eli's father showed him. He was one of the Thorns but when he had brought it up with one of the Order members, they had explained that he left the Thorns much like Flint had. However, unlike Flint, the Order members that spoke to them about Dylan didn't seem to be fond of him. Yet, they had said that Connor had granted Dylan immunity.

Merlin remembered his first meeting with Dylan back at the battle. His magic had made Merlin feel a little uneasy. There was a darkness behind Dylan's magic and Merlin could feel that it ran deep. The fact that someone like him had also been a Thorn also made him concerned about Dylan's presence but Connor and his friends told him that, like Flint, he didn't absorb souls like the other Thorns. Connor insisted to Merlin that Dylan's power, while it may be of darkness but it was still a natural one. He also insisted that Dylan was a strong needed ally in the coming war and would be invaluable.

Right now, Dylan had a sword out and was smirking a little as all these celts surrounded him. He was completely calm and didn't seem to have a scratch on him while there were a few soldiers already knocked out. Also, there seemed to be some kind of light black colored mist just outlining his shape.

"Come on, if you want to fight against the Thorns you will have to be much better than this. At least keep me interested boys."

One of the men grit his teeth and charged at him. Dylan intercepted the blow with his own sword and a metallic ring rang out. He kicked the man in the stomach and once he was hunched over, punched him across the face and kicked him down. Another soldier went at him with a spear but Dylan flew up a little to dodge it. He was just over the man's head and gave him a kick to the shoulder that knocked him down. Another celt, conjured a ball of light in his hand, he was a sorcerer, and then launched it at Dylan but he conjured an energy wall to absorb it. Then Dylan vanished from where he was and reappeared right behind that man. His right hand went into a fist that had a dark aura around it and he struck the celtic sorcerer and made him fly off and land on his back about five meters away. Two celts roared and charged at him at once from both Dylan's right and his left but he was hardly fazed. He dropped his sword and extended his arms out. Two streams of dark energy erupted from his palms and pushed the two men away and had them rolling in the opposite direction like they had been hit with by an invisible ox.

These patterns continued on and on. Whenever one of the celts tried to move against Dylan he would counter or bat their efforts away like they were nothing. Dylan flew about over them, disappeared and reappeared in different places and struck at them with fierce brutality that seemed almost cruel. But that didn't seem to deter his opponents in anyway. When they were knocked down, they would get back up if they could and charge for him again. Dylan was either oblivious to the punishment he was giving these men or just didn't care because he didn't let up if they came at him again.

Merlin felt waves of repressed anger, sadness and pain coming off Dylan as let it loose on these men. What scared him more than the fact that these men just kept going for more of Dylan's brutality was the look in his dark eyes when he caught them as he fought the celts. Arthur felt rooted in the spot he was standing. He felt an odd mix of anger and admiration right now for Dylan. Anger that Dylan was seriously hurting these men until they couldn't come at him anymore; And admiration that he was taking all these men singlehandedly and calmly. He also was admiring the guts that these celtic warriors seemed to have. He'd known knights who wouldn't have been able to keep getting up and taking this type of treatment.

Dylan disarmed another celt and then he backhanded his so hard that he flipped as he fell back. "Good effort." he said looking down at him. "From all of you. I honestly expected you to barely take half what I delivered you."

"We're not known for going down easily Dylan. You should know that by now."

There was one last guy. The rest were on the ground and seemed too sore to get back to their feet. They knew who he was.

"Bedivere," Dylan said sizing him up. "It's all done to you and me. I'm interested to see how you fight. You won't have to worry, I won't even use magic against you."

"Don't do me any favors," he said circling him. "Come at me with what you've got. Trust me. You'll need it."

Dylan smirk turned into a mischievous smile as he shrugged. "Well, if you insist," he said before he launched what looked like a dark colored twister that made an explosion where Bedivere stood.

Malcolm and Lionel jumped a little at that but stayed in their spots. Merlin made to move to do something but Arthur put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

Dylan just watched the rising smoke and dust with hardly a care or worry on his face. "You need more work Bedivere."

"I know you do," Bedivere's voice rang out actually surprising him.

With a flash of his eyes, Dylan cleared away the smoke and saw Bedivere standing calmly just a little bit away from the crater made by Dylan's blast. "You dodged it."

"Of course I did. A good way to fight against magic attacks is to not get hit by them so I jumped away at the last moment. You couldn't see it because your vision got blocked by your own spell. Try not to make them so flashy. That could cost you."

"Good advice." Dylan then floated into the air slightly and flew at Bedivere with his sword ready.

Bedivere intercepted it and his feet dug into the ground as he tried to hold Dylan back. Dylan pushed on and was starting to actually draw some sweat on his brow. Bedivere brought out his clenched teeth as he tried to force him back. Dylan hands were starting to burn a little so he just flew back and made Bedivere tumble to his knees. Dylan then flew behind his crutched form and had his blade touch his neck from behind.

"Too much thought in moving forward to get at me. You let me capitalize on that and make you slip up." He then withdrew his blade and resheathed it. It looked like he was going to let Bedivere go but then he slammed his fist into the back of his head, making him go face first into the grass. "That could be fatal if it had really been a Thorn or one of their disciples."

Bedivere was still slightly moving after that blow to the head but he didn't say anything to Dylan's last comment. He just laid there and let the words sink in.

Dylan turned, looked about and then just started to leave before Merlin cut in front of him. "Did you really have to do that with Bedivere? Or with everyone else? You could've of just knocked them out, you didn't have to batter at them so much."

Dylan looked at Merlin like he was just an annoying bump in the road. "It's training. I was just trying to get them ready for the pain that comes with battle. As for Bedivere, just trying to make a lesson stick."

"Well, you didn't have to make that cheap shot to do it. I think that the advice you gave would've been enough."

"Well, it wasn't for me."

"What is your problem?" he nearly shouted.

"Too many to list, now please get out of my way."

"You know," Arthur said stepping in. "You could at least try to make sure that these men get some treatment first. As the one who trained them, you're responsible for their welfare during and after the training is done."

Dylan just looked at Arthur and scoffed at him. "No, that's not my responsibility, it's theirs. At the end, everyone is only responsible for themselves. If you can't do that then you may as well die out there. Now, I think I asked for you all to get out of my way once. I never like repeating myself"

He then pushed roughly passed both Arthur and Merlin and stomped off with the two of them looking after him with disbelief on their faces. Both at his rudeness and his disregard for the well being of the men he trained against. Merlin just clenched his fist as he watched Dylan's form grow smaller as he just kept on walking.

* * *

**End of Chapter 25**

A/N: This chapter went through so many re-writes. I must've deleted it maybe four times. I hope it was worth it for you all. I hope Dylan left you all with quite an impression because he sure did with Arthur and Merlin and it wasn't a good one. I wanted a contrast to Connor's calm and gentle nature and Dylan is it with his aggression and threatening personality. I think I might write about three more chapters before I wrap up this story and move on to the third and final one in the Destiny series.


	26. The Drive of Hate

**Dangers in the Path to Destiny**

A/N: From the new poll results, it seems that there are now three ideas that are heading for the cutting room floor. In the lead, is the betrayal idea. I didn't think that one would be such a popular choice to keep but it seems I will have to do that idea great justice. I already have other things in motion for the other ones. The last few chapters will help set the stage for the next and final part of the series. I can see that Dylan isn't quite a popular person with a good many of you. He's complicated, and he's not exactly out to make friends. Though with the childhood he's had, I think you would say that it's a miracle he's even _this_ nice. You'll learn more about him and Lionel here. Also, we get a grim look at developments that will make things bleaker for Camelot and Albion's future and better for Wirtgernesburg's. And not all of them are from Vortigern and Mordred.

* * *

I_ imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain_

~James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time

* * *

Chapter 26: The Drive of Hate

Merlin was brought out of staring at Dylan's back by a nearby moan of one of the beaten celts. The man was holding his stomach with one hand as he struggled to get to his knees. Merlin kneeled to him and helped him get to his feet.

"Don't worry, I got you."

"Thank you," the celt said trying not to flinch too much from the sores he was feeling.

Arthur and his knights went off to follow Merlin's lead and went to the nearest fallen celtic warrior. Some of the Order members that had been watching also went to carry some of the celts away. Arthur went to Bedivere who was still lying with his face in the grass.

"Bedivere," he said shaking him. "Are you okay?"

Bedivere just moved his head to face Arthur and nodded. He then went and had his face lie back into the grass.

Gaius didn't see any open wounds on any of these men so he thought that was a small mercy. He looked back at Dylan's trail himself and he couldn't help but think...that he might just know Dylan from somewhere. After a few moments he cleared his throat. "If any of you need any medical attention, please say so. I'm a physician and I could help any of you that need it."

A few of them didn't seem to have any sort of wound but they would have sores that would visibly bruise in a day. The knights started to help the celts walk over to the village by helping some to their feet and walking with them. There were some that were so hurt that couldn't even stand even with their assistance. Percival actually was carrying a man on his back and Elyan and Tristan both had to support a man whose knees were too sore to even slightly stand. Some of them were able to walk on their own but they did it at a slow pace and as they held their stomachs or their sides and also flinched with every other step. Gaius could see that he would have to prepare quite a few poultices for them to place over their sores.

Merlin had the man he helped up but arm over his shoulder and walked him right behind Gaius. His mind turned right back to Dylan. He couldn't believe that man. He didn't even think twice about hurting all these men. He could understand people getting hurt in training but this was something else. It was as if Dylan was just looking to ruthlessly beat these men instead of training with them. And to leave them like that? Without any care or even help them to get it. How could anyone be so cruel to their own allies?

Then there was what he had sensed coming off him. The magic that Dylan had was a strong and deep rooted darkness. The look in his eyes also played back in Merlin's mind. That cold and hard gleam in his eyes. He'd seen that look before...in Morgana's eyes when they had fought against her. Even if Connor insisted that he trusted Dylan, Merlin felt he was someone that he should be wary of.

Back on the field, Arthur was trying to get Bedivere to get himself on his feet. "Here, let me help you up."

"I'm okay," he said with his face still in the grass.

Arthur heard the sound of people coming to them and looked to see that it was Lionel and Malcolm. "Lionel, Malcolm," he said acknowledging them.

Malcolm ignored Arthur and bent slightly in front of Bedivere. "That grass must sure be comfortable, huh Bedivere?" he said with a bit of a tease in his tone.

Bedivere smiled slightly into the grass before he looked up at Malcolm with a dignified expression in his face. "Shut up Master Malcolm."

Malcolm grinned a little. "Nice, insult me with the use of my title. You're getting more loose with your lip every time I see you."

Bedivere went and sat up in place on the ground. "Well, I did have quite the example in that." he said grinning back at him.

"With the amount of time you spent following us and tagging along on Eire, I shouldn't be surprised," he said making Bedivere grin a little mischievously.

Arthur was happy to see that Bedivere looked okay in comparison to the others. He sees that Lionel had his overgrown pouch with those four dragon eggs that he didn't seem to let out of his sights. As Arthur gaze grew longer at them, Lionel tightened his hold and moved further away from his gaze. Lionel was slightly glaring at him as he tried to move the eggs further from him. Arthur looked about and didn't see Madoc anywhere nearby though. "Where's Madoc?"

"With Kilgharrah," he said simply before moving away from him. Lionel stood right at Malcolm's side. "Bedivere, you sure you're okay?"

Bedivere stopped grinning and became serious. "I'm fine. Really. The worst thing, besides my head still ringing a little, is my hurt pride but I'll get by."

Arthur got back to his feet and looked back in the direction that Dylan went off. "I have half a mind to teach that man some manners."

"Leave him alone," Lionel said curtly to him. "Dylan doesn't need to have a lecture from you."

Arthur just stared back at him with a slightly angry look. "Did you see what he did to everyone?" he said pointing at the now empty field. "Even when I'm at my most careless state, I know the fine line between training my men and beating them down. Dylan crossed the line."

"No," Bedivere said slowly getting to his own feet. "He just walked along it, that's all."

"What?" Arthur tried to refrain from yelling at the boy. "Did you see how you're fellow men look? He knocked you on the back of the head in a backhanded attack and you're defending him?"

"And who are you to say how he should act or not?" Lionel said folding his arms at him.

"You're defending him too?" he asked incrediously. Gaius' explanation of chosen keepers made him think that Lionel would be opposed to Dylan's sort of behavior.

Bedivere held his arm out to hold Lionel back. "I'm not happy with the blow to the head he gave me in surprise but I still am grateful to Dylan. He taught me what I needed to know in that session. As for my comrades, believe me, some of those men have suffered through worse. We're not going to be able to stand up against the cruelty of King Vortigern Tregor by being babied. I for one hate when people do that to me but Dylan didn't treat me that way."

Arthur was taken aback at that and seemed to not know how to respond to it. Bedivere had a hard look come over him when he got to the being babied part. Malcolm just coughed when the silence went for too long.

"I better be heading back to the city. Brigid has called for a meeting about organizing an expedition for herself and the other healers to go and gather plenty of herbs and potion ingredients to create a good stock for the war."

He straightened himself out and Lionel brushed off some of the grass that clung to Bedivere's shoulder. "Make sure that your men are okay."

"Of course I will."

"I'll help him do that," said Arthur.

Lionel caught Arthur's eye and just stared back at him without saying another word. Malcolm grabbed at Lionel's shoulder and pulled him away. Malcolm and Lionel walked off for the city while Bedivere watched them go off for a bit before he himself took off for the direction of the village. Arthur narrowed his eyes a little at Lionel before he followed after Bedivere. He offered to help him with getting back but he insisted that he could get to the village on his own two feet.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I don't think that the Keeper of the Dragons trusts me. I know the dragons were brought to this point but I thought he would see that I don't want to hurt them like my father did."

Bedivere stared after Lionel again, more sadly this time. "That's only part of it. The Keeper...Lionel, he's had a traumatic past. The purge affected friends of magic just as hard as those who had it."

"Friends of Magic?" He'd never heard of something like that before.

"People who don't have magic but co-exist with them in peace." Bedivere explained.

"Like you and your fellow celts," Arthur said connecting the dots and looking back. "Like Malcolm and Lionel."

Arthur remembered that Lionel told Merlin that he used to be a servant to a dragonlord. He knew his father hunted down the dragonlords and no doubt killed Lionel's former master on one of the many raids across the land. He remembered the flinch at his whole name and the tense looks he got when he approached Madoc and looked at the eggs. He must think that he might try to hurt Madoc or the unborn dragons in the eggs if he got too close. A small part of him thought that Lionel's reaction to him was justified; after all, he did lead an expedition to destroy a dragon egg nearly two years ago. And, he did have a reflex to strike at Madoc, even if it was for a second, back when he first met the young red dragon. Yet, he also remembered that the Thorns also sought to use the eggs for evil and yet he didn't seem tense or protective around Dylan like he did him. Why?

"Yes," Bedivere said continuing his story. "and I heard that Lionel had originally gone by another name while he lived here in these lands. He and his parents had been attacked by bandits when he was a child in the woods. They were killed and he was left for dead and would've died if a dragonlord by the name Brim hadn't stumbled onto him about a day later. He was then taken in as his ward and Lionel went on to serve him in gratitude. When the purge started and Uther went for the dragonlords...Brim literally threw himself at your father and his men to let both Lionel and the dragon egg that was in their care, Madoc's egg, escape from them. The dragonlords were being killed off and their dragons being destroyed due to the secret efforts of the Thorn Kenrick as well as your father's soldiers using the weapons from the Bloodguard that they took. Lionel went on a one man mission to the sacred dragon caverns for the eggs they left behind. He managed to get to four of them and left for Eire and..." Bedivere stopped for a few moments, both talking and walking.

Arthur had been just listening patiently and quietly to Bedivere's story. He had told Mordred that he had done things to answer for but he had to know what more he had to answer for on his father's behalf. From even before that fight, it was clear that Mordred and the other Thorns were going to use all of the damage that the Pendragons had done against him. Sacrificing a life for his own, starting the Great Purge, stealing magical weapons from magical warriors and bringing the dragons close to extinction. He also had a feeling that Merlin knew a lot more of what his father and even he had done that he wasn't telling him, trying to smooth it over himself. He might not be his manservant anymore but he could see that Merlin was still trying to sort through his mess and even that of his father but this was something that he had to do, not him. His friends would say that it's not his fault that all this happened, and even if he did believe that, it was still his problem. So he needed to hear every story, every wrong, every spill of blood that is in his name. Merlin may be trying to convince the people of Albion that he could be trusted but he had to wonder just how much controversy Merlin faced in the last year when he did.

"What?" Arthur asked Bedivere when it was getting to be too long. He wanted him to continue.

"He changed his name to Lionel and went underground with the eggs...until he was found by both the Thorns and the Order of the Bear."

"Wait, why didn't he change his name back when he was safe under the Order's protection?"

"Lionel...hated the fact that it was him that Madoc and the other eggs would have to rely on in their lives and not someone like Brim. He feels that the wrong one was to die that day and his old master should've been allowed to live with those eggs so he killed himself by discarding his name and taking a new one. However, I don't know what his old name was."

"Now I get it." Arthur could not imagine that kind of hate that a person would have for themself to forsake their own name like that. Now he could understand a little more about his reluctance to let the dragons be in his presence. Bedivere had stepped into a sink in the ground and it made him flinch in pain and grip his head from the sudden vibration. "You okay?" he asked in concern for the young man.

Bedivere rubbed his head and nodded a little. "Don't worry. I'll be fine."

Arthur then remembered that Bedivere owed his head trauma to Dylan. "What about Dylan? Lionel seemed pretty taken with him despite the Thorns going for the dragon eggs."

"Oh...I guess it might be because he could sympathize with him. They share something strong in common."

Arthur thoughts went to both the Keeper of the Dragons and that former Thorn. What could they both share in common? "What is it?" he voiced out.

"Dylan isn't Dylan's real name either. Like Lionel, he also changed it because of what happened in the Purge."

* * *

Dylan had walked a little bit from the meadow before he got too restless and took to the air. He couldn't believe that both Arthur Pendragon and his friend Merlin thought that they could tell him how to act. How could the son of a tyrant king and a sorcerer who managed to live a life without so much as a pitchfork aimed for him everyday possibly understand?

"Brainless fools," he said to himself as their angry faces flashed in his mind's eye.

As the air hit his face, he let his mind wander to his past. His family were nobility that had a history of talented magic users as well. His grandfather was friends with Uther's father and his father served Uther proudly as his court sorcerer when he became king of Camelot. He even gave his father a noble residence in one of Camelot's richest towns, Bayston. He remembered living there and seeing his father when he could get away from his duties in Camelot for visits. Then Uther had his father killed with starting the Purge even though he served him faithfully. Then, even though he was barely 11 years old, Uther called for his own death but the men charged with protecting him announced their refusal to that...at least until Uther offered enough gold to overflow their pockets for years and they couldn't have him tied up fast enough then. He remembered when he was to be traded to some of Camelot's knights for that gold. That day, when he was to be traded, the people in Bayston, who would always say that they loved him, spat and glared at him as he was being taken away. He remembered feeling so betrayed and abandoned as he walked on in those ropes.

His lips broke into a small grin at remembering what happened next. He had something inside him snap and when the trade was commencing, a pair of large canine-like creatures materialized out of nowhere and started to claw, rip and tear into them. He later found out that he was a special brand of sorcerer called a Conjurer that could materialize things, though they never lasted for long. He had tapped into his pain and anger that day and conjured those monsters to save himself. Then he went on the run from patrols of King Uther and eventually found himself facing Micah of the Brotherhood of the Thorn. His upbringing from then on was...less than honorable. Dylan then shed his name and took on a new one to leave his former and lesser life behind. In fact, he could barely remember it now...Vilmer.

Dylan flew over the city of Albion and saw the people there going about, either doing their daily duties and routines or running around to do errands relating to the upcoming war. He touched down in front of the Manor's gates and the guards bowed their heads to them.

"Is Connor in?" They nodded and opened the gate for him. "Thank you." he said stepping past them.

Connor. One of the very few people that he could admit had his trust. He still couldn't believe that he could considering that their personalities were so opposite from each other. Dylan would admit that he had his trust but not his friendship though Connor would insist that they were indeed friends, even when Dylan insisted back that they weren't. Connor was openly kind, merciful, and unattached from many things that men in his position and power were known to seek. He also had no problem letting people in on his heart. Dylan, however, was hard, merciless; he wouldn't hesistate in killing if he had to and above all sought his ultimate revenge on those who have wronged him. He also found it near impossible to trust or rely on anyone with all the betrayals faced in his life. First it was from Uther and the men he was charged to and then Micah and the Thorns as well as the Tregors. Yet, despite all of those differences, they found they had a lot in common as well. The easiest to see was that they both suffered the same pain of losing their beloved fathers to the same master who betrayed them despite their loyalty.

He got to the door and went into the Manor and immediately found Connor speaking with a few of the healers of the city. At the sight of him, he excused himself and walked over to him.

"Hello Dylan. Glad to have you back."

"Glad you're glad then."

Connor smiled at Dylan's wit. "How did the training go? I know that you were going to work with Bedivere and a few of the celts today."

"It went well enough. They need a bit more work but I think they have what it takes to make the Thorns and their followers cause to be nervous."

"Good. My scouts have heard rumors of rogue sorcerers coming out of the woodwork to join Vortigern and the Thorns. If enough of them are seduced by the idea of using souls for power, then we'll have more trouble then ever before."

"I know...but," he said grimacing a little, "apparently my work for preparing the men isn't appreciated by everyone."

Connor caught his gaze. "What happened?" he asked like he was a child who misbehaved.

Dylan rolled his eyes but didn't want to lose his temper again so soon. "Oh, just Arthur and Merlin came at me with claims that I have problems with training the celts. They both gave me high and mighty acts against my methods. Though, they should've taken the time to notice that the ones I trained with didn't so much as pout at me while they were the ones to say anything at all."

"Well, you can be a little intimidating," he said trying to make him crack a smile. Dylan didn't even grin but he did have an amused glint in his eyes. Connor then went serious again. "Arthur and Merlin still don't know all about how we work but just give them some time. They are our allies now."

"No, they're your allies now, not mine. I'm sure you remember the vow I made. You haven't forgotten, have you?"

Connor closed his eyes and nodded. "Don't worry. I remember." Connor knew it well. Dylan had vowed that he wouldn't rest until he destroyed all who wore the crests of the Thorns, the crest of Palin and now Vortigern Tregor and that of Uther Pendragon. Dylan had stayed in Eire to protect Eire from any remnants of the Tregors' influence in penance for his past actions but he said that if Albion was ever in danger from Camelot, he would come back to these lands to destroy them before they could do anything more to any of them. Since Connor and the whole of Albion didn't seek another war it kept those feelings of his at bay but now that they were in an alliance, it made a new complication.

"The only reason that I'm not wiping Arthur and all his knights and soldiers right now is because in respect for you and you asked me not my hatred of the Thorns and Tregors trumps that of them. But if they keep this up then I could be tempted to handle lesser concerns first before I go for the bigger ones. This may no longer be all of us against them but its still personal for me."

Connor opened his eyes and stared back at him. "Yes Dylan, but I'm still asking you to just let them go in regards to that."

"You know I won't do that Connor," he said in a low voice that he almost didn't hear himself. "The fact that I'm even have to be called Dylan should tell you that much. I'm sure that Lionel would understand why I can't perfectly."

Connor wanted to argue more but he knew it wouldn't help any. "Okay," he said settling down. "But hold out on doing anything until Vortigern and the Thorns are gone first. I'll speak to Merlin and Arthur to back off when it comes to you."

"For their sake, I hope they listen to you. If it helps, tell them the truth. Assure them that I'll save Arthur and his men for after we are victorious so they better hope that I get killed before then."

"Well, I don't." he said looking at his friend solemnly. He would never want to see Dylan dead and wouldn't take too kindly to anyone that wished for his death either.

* * *

Mordred was off in a corner of Vortigern's throne room caressing the blade of his new weapon. The sight of the Crystal of Neathid giving it a further gleam of magical power. Vortigern had christened his special sword like weapon Clarent. He thought it was a beautiful name fitting the beauty of it's magic. Mordred had spent all the free time he had for the last week practicing and training with it to unlock its full powers. He cut through dummies with relish as he imagined foolish Knights of Camelot and treacherous members of the Order of the Bear in their place. He found the more fire he had in striking down his targets, then the more energy was let loose from Clarent. He also was able to have his Clarent launch magical bursts that could reduce dummies to ashes. Yet, the forgers of Clarent who observed his training kept saying that he still didn't tap into the full powers of his sword.

Vortigern insisted that he have his best smiths to work on its creation and that they use enemy silver, their runic knowledge and energy tapping techniques to incorporate both the magic of the wielder and the magic of the crystal into its design. He had said that he wanted it to be fit for this new kingdom's champion. A great proclamation was made naming Mordred as such and that bit was announced throughout the kingdom that now officially included the lands of their conquered enemies and fallen allies. Vortigern was happy to see that this bit of news made more rogue sorcerers come to join him in hopes of power and glory on top of those that wished revenge on Arthur Pendragon for the actions of him and his father against them.

Right now, Vortigern was also in the throne room, in his throne, waiting on Mab and Nemain to arrive from where they had been stationed to consolidate their power in the land. King Lot's men had just been sent off, back to their king with news of the accepted alliance and Vortigern would personally visit in a few weeks to see his supposed gift to use against Merlin and his dragon. Soon the doors opened and in walked both the Thorns' women majestically.

"Mab, Nemain," he said kissing both their hands. "It's great to see you again."

Mordred followed his example. "It's great to see you again."

"And you as well Mordred," said Nemain.

Mab chuckled as Mordred kissed her hand. "I see that your castle has been completed. It's wonderful. Tall and powerful. Suits you perfectly."

"Yes," Vortigern said with a small chuckle. "Those Camelot knights and soldiers might not be good at defending a kingdom but they make good slave labor to build the castle for one."

"Where are they?" asked Mab.

"Oh," Mordred said putting his hands behind his back and rocked himself on the balls of his feet like an excited child. "After we finally got everything out of the vaults, we converted them into their new dungeons. My own idea that the sorcerers we recruited were only to happy to help with. They put pride in locking magic up in there so what could be more fitting then having those of magic locking them there as well."

Nemain let out a breath of amusement before she went sucked in lips slightly. "We heard the news. Angus has truly been destroyed?"

"Unfortunately," Mordred said with a sullen nod. "He used too much of his power in building up the magical resistance in his hippogriffs and didn't have enough time to charge himself before we engaged them. Otherwise, he never would've fallen."

Vortigern sighed but became focused again. "But we are still far from beaten. If they think that they've won because we've lost Angus then they are more foolish then we all thought. Especially with our newest findings."

Mab cracked a smile. "So you've got to them then?"

"Why do you think I called for you? Micah ensured that the chest could only be opened by one of the originals and, sadly, with the demise of Angus, you are the only one left Mab. We should head for the vaults."

"Then why did you summon me Vortigern?" asked Nemain. "Though I admit that I did need a change of scenery from that little fortress of Godwyn's you didn't need me here for this."

"Yes, I have a duty for you to perform here as well considering what we found along with Micah's chest."

Nemain found herself in the armory where there were already about thirty men there. Most of them were sorcerers that had come pledging their support and now they were going to be made into an elite force. Yet, when their lesser sorcerer disciples tested them, these men were far from the level needed to engage foes like the Order of the Bear. The strongest that a few of the men in this room could do was maybe fling one or two people onto their back with a word but that wouldn't be enough. However, instead of just turning them away, Vortigern thought of something to still make them an asset that was useable in their plans. They needed a little something extra to compensate for their lack of power.

"Thank you all for coming," Nemain said starting the purpose of this gathering. "I am Nemain. One of King Vortigern's high council."

"Why are we here?" asked one of them.

"Yeah, we heard that we were to be given something beyond our wildest dreams." said another.

"And you are," she said making her way to a two tables to the far end of the room covered up in cloths. "Granted, you all have magic and our new king finds it vital in his plans but some of you," _'more like most of you' _she added silently. "are far from the power it would take to conquer the enemies that are soon to descend on us. Therefore, we believe that you all need something if you are to serve him in the way you desire."

"What is that?" asked a man she couldn't see. "You're going to train us?"

'_Training you whelps would be a waste of time, even though I have an infinite amount_," she thought to herself. "That would take too long," she said out loud. "But we have something to make it so you could work with the higher ranking sorcerers we already have." '_Or make you actually useful' _Nemain wished she could've said. She then yanked the cloths off the tables to show off the display of swords, shields, axes, spears, lances and other miscellaneous weapons in the collection. "We will arm you with these magical weapons. Actual mystical ones taken by Uther from the mighty Bloodguard themselves."

Soon after leaving Nemain, Vortigern, Mordred and Mab had made their way to their castle's treasure room. They walked to a pedestal that had a wooden chest that didn't seem to have a lid on it. There was an engraving of the Thorns' symbol carved at the top.

"Finally," Mab said passing her fingers over it. "Stolen by the High Priestesses from us Thorns long ago and guarded by the Bloodguard. Yet, thanks to Uther pride, he's handed us back our most greatest asset again."

"Yes," Vortigern said nodding with a smile over his face. The stories that the Thorns would tell him of it when he was a child. Of the possibilities it would unlock. "Do you remember how to open it?"

"Don't worry, I remember everything that Micah ever told me and did with me," she said with a snicker.

Vortigern rolled his eyes. "Just open it." he ordered.

She rolled her eyes but let herself become serious. "Very well." She silently chanted to herself before she opened her mouth and held a palm in front of it. Suddenly a light seemed to come from within her open mouth giving extra light to the room. Soon a ball of light came out it fell into her waiting hand. It was one of the souls she had consumed and she held it out in her open palm. She became a little breathless from the loss of it but didn't falter. She focused her gaze on the box and injected the soul into the box through the engraving. As it sunk in she started to chant audibly.

"_**Erbyn Hyn Enaid, yr Wyf Wnued Cais I Chi Fod yn Agored ac yn Rhyddau Grym o Fewn**_." As she chanted the soul sunk lower until it was fully absorbed into the box by the time she was done. Light seemed to leak out of the chest and made lines by the top in the area that a lid would be and it burst open.

The three of them fanned away some of the dust that rose from within and gazed at what was inside. Three very special ancient artifacts sitting on a velvet cushion, a dark metal covered tome, a set of jeweled and engraved bracelets and a dagger that would practically make anyone wielding them just short of invincible.

"This is it?" asked Mordred. "This doesn't seem so special compared to the weapons that we got to."

"Oh...just you wait my boy," Mab said lightly caressing all three of artifacts. "These things will open the way to power that makes the magic of the Old Religion pale in comparison."

"And will grant me the true immortality my father sought long ago." finished Vortigern.

* * *

**End of Chapter 26**

A/N: Hope you liked that one. For Lionel's original name, I did mention it back in Chapter 23 when Kilgharrah called him it from his previous memories of the Keeper. Also, Mordred's weapon, Clarent; that is the name of Mordred's sword in the legends. I also read up on Clarent's and Excalibur's relationship in the Nicholas Flamel book series and it sealed the deal for me. As for the artifacts in the chest that Vortigern has been wanting for a long time, tell me what you think or your guesses on what they could be about. I doubt you will get it but I still want to see if someone gets warm. I will say that it's nothing that has appeared in the series before but I think would've shown a definite side of evil.

_Erbyn hyn Enaid, yr Wyf Wneud Cais I Chi Fod yn Agored ac yn Rhyddau Grym o Fewn_ - By this soul, I bid you to be open and unleash the force within


	27. End of the Beginning

**Dangers in the Path to Destiny**

A/N: There are only three chapters left in this story. If an idea that you don't want to see cut from the next story is in danger then you still have some time to vote to keep it in the poll.

* * *

_Union may be strength, but it is mere blind brute strength unless wisely directed_

~ Samuel Butler

* * *

Chapter 27: End of the Beginning

In the village, in front of the headman's barn, Arthur, Merlin, and Gwaine were overlooking it with Connor, Malcolm and Kay right next to them. The Vikings that surrendered from the battle were still being held there. Typically, prisoners of war would've been questioned, however it was quickly clear that these men were just disposable grunts. They wouldn't know anything that they could find useful. As Camelot and Albion both fought and captured them, it was left to them to decide their fate. The other rulers trusted that Arthur and, even Connor, would make the right choice in what to do with the Vikings.

"We can't just keep them there," said Connor. "That is a much needed storehouse for the crops grown around here and unfortunately, we don't have a prison to put them in elsewhere."

"You really should consider building one." said Merlin. "I'm surprised that you didn't already. You knew you had enemies."

Kay shrugged. "We never really needed one here before. Our previous enemies from the outside we've had either destroyed or managed to convert them to our ways of life. We never had to have people captive long term before."

"Well," said Arthur. "I can see how you've never needed one for war prisoners. You fought a war outside the land of your city and your prisoners could be kept in the ones made by your allies. But I'm sure you've had mishaps inside your own city like treachery or violence."

Connor and Kay nodded slowly but Malcolm shrugged. "We have had some problems but they never were too serious. Since we were closed off from the world, we had to rely on each other. So, in essence, if anyone did anything treacherous then it really was harming us all. Trust me, the people around here learned that the hard way."

Connor remembered some of that harmful treachery in the beginning days of Albion. It was treachery that ultimately led to Lord Gwaine's death by a greedy magical warlord. "He's right, besides, in Albion, the penalty for treachery and treason is death by execution. We have no tolerance for it considering..." he said trailing off.

Yes, Arthur didn't need Connor to go on. He understood. Gwaine raised his eyebrows though. "It's clear that you've had to execute others before since you said that you make them private affairs. Like when you executed that man we captured that tried to get us all to destroy one another. But what about other crimes that don't exactly call for it? Theft, violence and all that. You just let them go?"

"Not exactly. For petty things, we make them work off their penalties in multiple ways." explained Kay. "Making sure that their added responsibilities are fitting punishments to the crime of the perpetrator. We work and live here together to try and get our lives back in order after what most of us have been through. We've worked hard to make sure that we all are able to do that here."

Connor nodded. "There have been a few troublemakers from time to time but it wouldn't be a city if there wasn't."

"However," said Malcolm. "We've stressed greatly that if any can't do that then they will be forced to leave. So for things more serious like rape or abuse of power, it means permanent banishment from Albion."

"And there aren't many here who'd want that" said Connor, "Before our war on Eire against the Tregors and their kingdom Snowdonia, there weren't exactly many places we could go and be ourselves so we have to learn to live and work together in peace. We've only had a handful of cases where we had to resort to banishment before."

"Are you sure that you should've done that?" asked Merlin. "Being kicked out of a place like Albion. I'm sure that's made a few people bitter and lean towards revenge. They could tell where you were out of spite." Connor had to be careful letting people go with that kind of blackmail material.

"Oh, we knew that which is why we placed curses on those that were banished to keep them from blurting our secrets. Don't worry," he said at their horrified faces. "We made sure to tell them of the curses which would only take effect if they told and later were about to tell when we got stronger. Being forced to live out with such fear and persecution was a more fitting punishment then being locked away in a small room in relative safety. There were only three cases like that but that was before our alliance with Eire and we then would banish the serious offenders there instead."

Merlin was surprised that Connor talked of placing curses on people with a nonchalant expression like they were discussing daily chores. It became clear then that while Connor was indeed a good hearted person, he was not someone to trifle with. The kindness that he offered was great but it wouldn't be something he let people take advantage of. He would truly protect his people even from themselves. Yet, he still had a good degree of generosity in that.

Merlin remembered meeting Rafe back in their first visit to Albion where he had been made to work as a servant in the Manor to work out his debt for breaking windows. Arthur also thought of Sir Cade's brothers and how his older younger brother had been tasked with grunt work for their army as punishment for the foul behavior he witnessed in the woods. Not serious offenses but ones that warranted punishment which they thought were fitting and warranted. Yet, while Arthur believed all these measures that they had in effect for their own townspeople was good; now that they were out in the open so they had to prepare for the trouble they were prone to from outsiders.

"But that doesn't help us here," Arthur said pointing back to the barn and to their original issue. "What are we going to do with them if we have nowhere to keep them? We can't just execute them, these men did surrender and it would be against the code of war. That warrants a degree of our mercy."

"You sure about that Arthur?" asked Gwaine. "They did try to attack a village of civilians."

"True...but they were simply following the orders of Angus and Mordred. When it came down to it, they didn't want any more to do with their plans which they proved by surrendering when given the choice. Showing them mercy could a difference in the long run. From what I've heard from Eli's father Trevor, it did in his case when you showed it to him and his men."

Merlin at that moment looked to the village in the direction of Eli's house where he knew that his father and himself had lived in relative peace after the war when they came to this land.

"He's right," said Kay. "But we can't just let them go. They would simply try to return to Vortigern and that would be worse."

"Because they would fight for him again?" asked Merlin.

"No, because he would either kill them or use their souls for fuel to make an example." Connor answered for them.

Merlin's heart dropped. "Are you sure?" he asked shocked.

Malcolm nodded his head with a smirk that held no amusement at all. "That's what his father and uncle did to their captured common troops that were released in the early days of the war. Wanted their failure to serve an example to the rest of their men. To them, surrendering to their enemy meant betrayal. They either won the battle or gave up their lives for the sake of the kingdom reputation. And based on what we heard Vortigern is just as merciless a ruler as them...maybe more."

"That's terrible," Gwaine said with a disgusted look plastered across his face.

"That's the Tregors," Kay said shrugging his shoulders. "Tregors," he said softly before his face lit up. "Why not banish these soldiers to Eire?"

"Eire?" Arthur said.

Connor rubbed his chin as he considered Kay's idea. "Yes, we'll send them to the south. They would be able to go there where they could be watched by carefully. It's a good place to have a second chance or throw it away. That is," he said looking at Arthur. "If you think that would be okay."

"It's perfect. So we should arrange to have them sent to the ports to have them sent off."

"Yes, Kay, could you handle that?" Connor asked his friend.

"Of course. I'll gather some men and escort them there."

"Gwaine," Arthur said to the knight with him. "Could you gather some of our men and help Kay?"

He gave Arthur a nod before turning to Kay. "If he doesn't mind."

They all looked to Kay and he shrugged his shoulders. "The more, the merrier as they say."

"Okay, let's get to it then," Gwaine said before the two took off to gather some armed men to escort the Vikings to the city.

"Then it's settled," said Malcolm. "I'll go back to Albion and have them begin preparing one of the ships. It should be ready by the time they reach the docks." he said before heading off.

They were happy that they were able to come to a solution that they were all comfortable with. Merlin hope for the future of their two peoples was growing every day. Thinking about the day, he looked up at the sun. "Is it after noon?"

Connor looked to the sky too. "I would say so. Why?"

"I have another class with Clara at the Academy. She said to be there about an hour after noon. I don't want to be late." Clara and the instructors had come to Merlin after the alliance was formalized and offered to help him bone up on magic. He'd never been able to learn anything at the Academy during his trips back to Albion because they were mostly for the business of reporting the status of the Truce. Gaius had told him that this might be what he just what needed over the magical instruction he was receiving before.

Connor stuck out his bottom lip and gestured off to the direction of the city. "Then you better get to it. Unless you leave now, you won't make it in time."

"Wait," Arthur said before he could take off. "You are this worried about being late for a lesson but you were happy to be late for me?"

"Keeping you waiting Arthur: fun. Keeping a woman like Clara waiting: trouble. Sorry," he said with a mishievous grin before he took off at a bit of a run.

"Smart man," Connor said as he took off.

"No, wrong words. Try Idiot," he said with amusement looking at Merlin's running form. "You'd think that with all the power he supposedly is capable of, he would be more..." he couldn't find a word.

"Less Merlin?" Connor guessed.

"Okay, I'll go with that." he said making a small grin form on Connor's lips. But then he remembered that they should get moving too. The two of them had a meeting that would be starting soon. "We better head for the city. The meeting is going to start soon."

"Right," Connor said suddenly remembering it too. "I almost forgot about it."

"Well then, let's go. But before that, I should get Guinevere."

* * *

There was a lot of commotion going on within one of the business rooms in the Lord's Manor of Albion. Currently, all the rulers of the kingdoms as well as Connor were in that room poured over a set of maps and papers. Arthur, Guinevere, Connor, Annis, Vivian and Elena. It was just them at the moment with none of their advisers or even their protection at their sides. It was a closed meeting and though a little tense, they were able to keep focused. They were united against a common enemy and Arthur beseeched to the others that if they couldn't even trust each other in a meeting than they would have no hope for it on the field. They were currently sharing ideas on what their opening actions should be in this new war to be waged against Vortigern and his new empire. The maps spread before them had positions that were marked with enemy positions and footholds.

"This is all amazing," Annis said looking at the maps. "Your scouts found all this out?"

"And so quickly?" asked Guinevere. "The ones we sent out haven't returned yet."

Connor smiled. "They have certain advantages over others in the field of collecting information."

They poured over the maps, discussing possible weaknesses or areas where they should concentrate their efforts over others. Soon, talks started on where allies could be hiding which brought up the topic of King Olaf.

"I believe that my father and the reserves of our men would go and hide in these cliffs," said Vivian pointing at a spot on the map of her lands. "My father's group and retreated in the direction of them. There are a system of caves and tunnels there where it's easy to get lost. It's always been a place where people were wary to go because it's easy to get lost in them. They're also large. You could hide a small army in them easily so all the men with him would also be safe in sound...in theory anyway." She then frowned a little. "I just wish I knew if he was safe or not."

Lady Elena placed a comforting hand over Vivian's. "I understand the need to know about your father. But there is no way we could get a scout in that part of the land anytime soon with the heavy presence of Mercia's former army there."

Connor saw the tears fall from Vivian and couldn't help but understand her pain. He remembered when his father was taken away and spent over a week not knowing if he was a prisoner, escaped or was dead. "Not a human scout," he said finally.

The five others in the room looked at him with confusion. "What do you mean?" Vivian asked wiping away her tears.

Connor went to open the room's window and whistled out. After a few seconds, a falcon flew in and perched on his outstretched arm. Arthur recognized it as the one Connor called Swift. "Your falcon?" Arthur asked.

"The soldiers keeping watch and searching your lands would look out for any and all people searching the area but wouldn't give animals a second thought. Trust me, I can vouch for their ability to find information on any part of the five kingdoms. Swift is actually my best scout and spy."

Arthur remembered back when he and his men were first caught in their lies during their last visit that Connor had told him that he kept tabs on what happened in his kingdom. Even the fact that he was going to use magic to try and heal his father which not too many people knew about. People. Connor's abilities as a Beast Tamer would give him an array of animals to go off and be his eyes and ears. Birds, dogs, cats, rats, maybe even bugs would be the ultimate invisible eavesdroppers.

Vivian looked from him to the bird growing more hopeful every second. "Your falcon could find my father?"

"I'm sure of it." he said stroking Swift's wing. "I've sent all my bird scouts but Swift to various places in Britian to look at the situation. They've been coming back to me now and again to tell me what they've found."

"So," said Annis. "That's how you found all this information so quickly. That is quite the skill to use to our advantage. It gives us a strong edge over Vortigern on knowing the movements of the enemy."

"Thank you." He then looked back at Vivian. "I'll send Swift over to fly about those caves. Would you like to have a message for Swift to carry in his talons and leave where he's sure that your father's men will find it?"

"Yes...thank you again for this Connor." Her tears were finally starting to dry a little with this new chance to finally get real answers on her father.

"Yes," Guinevere said nodding. "Thank you."

Arthur, Annis and Elena all nodded in agreement and Connor answered with a nod of his own. "You're welcome." Swift, who now was perched on his shoulders softly cawed after him.

* * *

Over in the valley, between the city and the village, were the Albion conscripts and lesser skilled guards and soldiers making swiping movements with their swords, spears or other weapons. Standing to the side were Sirs Galahad, Flint, Cade and three others. They were looking at the knights that were going around and correcting hand placement or striking movements. Percival was correcting one on where he should hold the spear for the strongest jabs. Elyan was striking and observing one soldier that was blocking the jabs thrown at him with his battle shield. He showed him where he would best hold off the attacks to leave himself at minimum risk. Tristan was correcting one man's foot positions as he saw that after a couple of swings of his sword that he could end up falling or tripping on his feet. Leon was giving advice where he thought advice was due on some of the sword handlers. Privately, some of these men impressed him with the rapid succession of their strikes even if some had sloppy handling of their weapons. He could see that they valued speed over brute strength but they had to work with meeting strength of their enemy head on because he knew that in close quarters, their room for using speed would be severely limited.

Flint looked on as the knights loaned their expertise to their new recruits and rookie men. "Well, it looks like they might just know what they're doing."

"They're knights Flint," said Galahad. "They didn't get to be among the elite warriors by being amateurs on the field. With the exception of Leon, they all started out just like us. Though it looks like Leon knows how to get through in his teaching."

Cade looked at Elyan help a man train with his shield. He knew him as one who started to train to try for the Order the same time as him though he didn't seem to have the talent that Cade had. He saw his former fellow trainee start blocking more of the hits in succession the longer the lessons went on. "They do seem to know what they're doing."

"Probably," Flint said overlooking the field.

Galahad looked over at him a little sadly. "I know that you aren't exactly happy to have them around us so much now but there's nothing you can do about it now. They're our allies now and we can't be thinking about that with Vortigern and the Thorns over the horizon. You've got to accept it."

"Oh, I accept it alright. Doesn't mean I have to like it," Flint said calmly. He then made a tiny ball of fire, about the size of coin appear in his hand and started to juggle it with his fingers. "Or forgive them."

"Actually," said Galahad. "Chances are the ones who did that to you are most likely dead. What with Vortigern bringing Camelot to the ground and the Thorns forces near decimating their army."

Flint made the fire grow a little. "Doesn't mean that makes it better."

"I know. It's just something to consider now."

"What about you Galahad? Don't you still have a few problems with this?"

They looked at him to see his answer on this one. He was looked back at them before facing the field again. "Plenty," he answered with a very calm and simple tone. "But I'm still learning to work over them. I guess it helps that I had to be around them for a year. It was a little unsettling to be in the place that until recently would be glad to put my friends and especially my wife and son up for execution. Yet, I had to deal with it."

"Just like that? Dealing with that fact knocking in your head?"

"It was just like Merlin kept saying during our return reports. We want them to change their perception towards us but we can't ask them to do that and not return the action ourselves. It would only work when both sides are working towards it and not just one." He focused his gaze on Leon and saw him go to a trainee who was a sorcerer and start helping him with how to best hold his sword. "I know for a fact that even the knights down there still are quite a bit uneasy around the magic with us but they are still trying to help us. I'd say that Merlin's suggestions deserve a little faith now."

Flint then made the fire in his palm disappear. "Still doesn't mean I have to like it." he said before slowly walking off.

The others spent the remainder of the time just watching the Knights of Camelot help instruct their men in silence.

* * *

The Academy was buzzing as a few young and older students and magical instructors found themselves starstruck seeing Merlin's progress with Clara and Kalen. They were cheering and clapping on at the sight of Merlin competing with Kalen. Eli was also there and was clapping in support of Merlin's very clear success. Clara had started Merlin the previous day on teleporting and Merlin had taken to it quickly, very quickly. He had always seen other sorcerers able to make themselves vanish and was eager to pick up on it himself. He was amazed at how easy he found it. Right now, there were square metal plates spread around the room that Clara had started teaching him on teleporting from plate to plate the previous day and he managed to disappear and reappear at an opposing one in under an hour of practice. Today he was competing with Kalen in a race of sorts. They were teleporting from plate to plate from one side of the room to the other. Merlin flashed away with a near silent gust of wind before he popped back into picture on the plate right in front of him barely a second later. And then, barely two seconds later vanished from that one.

Kalen was on the other side of the room and about two plates behind Merlin. Kalen was impressed with him. Teleportation was a very advanced form of magic and one that took quite some power to perform especially for one to do it in succession like they were. He had been capable of it for about five years now and it still took him a bit longer before he could do it at a pace like this one; but Merlin, on his second day of it, was greatly surpassing him. It took Merlin maybe two seconds less than it took him to vanish again right after he reappeared once they started to get really into it. Kalen was amazed at his level of talent.

Merlin then appeared on the final plate with Kalen about five plates behind him. "Done."

"It's done," Clara said with a clap. "Merlin wins."

At that, many of the young students began to crowd around Merlin and started to gleefully tell him how amazing they found him and how it was seeing him win that little race.

"Okay, okay," Merlin said as he was nearly tackled by this small mob of excited children. "I get it. I was amazing."

Then there was loud clapping as the instructors came to them. One of them cleared his throat. "Alright, the show is over. I'm sure that Merlin still has work to do and we should follow the great warlock's example and get back to work ourselves."

Many of the children pouted but they let themselves be taken from the room to go back to their rooms and work on the lessons that they left off. The older ones shook Merlin's hand in congratulations before leaving themselves. After all was done, only Merlin, Clara, Kalen and Eli were left.

Clara went up to him and put her hands on her hips with a smile on her face. "I think its safe to say that you've mastered the basics and are ready to try long distance teleporting now."

"This is amazing," Merlin said not able to resist the smile that was plastured on his face. "I can't believe that teleportation was this easy."

"It's not supposed to be." said Kalen. "Not too many can. The only bit of magic that I can think is harder to master is that of flight. Yet...you could do both and were getting the hang of it quickly."

"Maybe not the flying part. Against Angus, it didn't do me much good."

"Maybe not for a soldier's use," said Clara. "But in the general sense, you seemed to have gotten it." She then cast as spell that made all the plates fly off the floor and stack up against the wall. "I've never seen someone get teleportation that quickly after one day."

"I guess I had a good teacher," he said smiling at her.

Kalen snorted. "I hope you're just charming her and not flirting Merlin. Galahad could be quite the jealous type when it comes to her."

"My husband has no reason to be jealous," Clara said waving him off. "Though, the one thing I will say against him is that he is better suited in training soldiers...not warlocks. I know he worked hard to train you but, it's clear to me that you're no soldier Merlin."

He nodded and looked to the floor. He and Arthur both acknowledged that fact already. "I know."

Clara was silently looking at him for a few moments before she gave him a more contented smile. "Maybe you're something else altogether. Maybe something greater than that."

Merlin looked back at her in surprise. "What do you think that is?"

"Who knows. I've heard the legends and teachings about you, the legendary Emrys, what your potential entails. I guess we'll have to wait to see what that is. I for one can't wait to see what that is."

"Neither can Gaius and I," said Eli. He then went out of the room and came back a moment later with a long bundle. "Though I guess you'll be needing this."

Merlin took the bundle from it and slowly unwrapped it. "It can't be," he whispered as the sight of his Sidhe staff came into view.

* * *

**End of Chapter 27**

A/N: I hope you liked it. What I wanted to get through on this chapter is where Merlin best shines. In the legends, Merlin was a powerful sorcerer but his power wasn't tied to the battlefield but in how he affected people. How he taught Arthur and helped others as well. When he tried fighting Angus, he tried pursuing a path that wasn't meant for him and that's why he failed. Merlin isn't a soldier even by magic's standards. He's magic in the more general sense. Probably why Galahad and Kay's training didn't take too well. Yet, in the training scene, the flying, his setting up the dummies and repairing them and animating the dolls for Galahad, helping to hold off Mab and shielding Arthur and the others from Mordred's power; those were classic Merlin things that further made people impressed and awed by him. I wanted that side to start becoming clear to both him and to us. He isn't a magical soldier like the sorcerers in the Order or Albion army like Clara said but, really, so much more.


	28. Final Preparations

**Dangers in the Path to Destiny**

A/N: I'm glad to see that everyone is liking where this is heading. One anonymous reviewer had written that he believes that I said that Merlin couldn't fight. I never did say that Merlin couldn't fight, I said he wasn't a soldier. That doesn't mean he can't fight but its not a livelihood for him like it is for a soldier. There are just two chapters left and Merlin and Arthur's greatest adventure and obstacles to date is about to begin. Also, this chapter has an appearance of a Series 5 character that I couldn't resist putting in my story at this point. Hope you like it.

* * *

_The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him._

~ G.K. Chesterton

* * *

Chapter 28: Final Preparations

Merlin looked at the staff, almost refusing to believe his eyes. He had left it back in his room back in Camelot and he believed that it had been lost with everything. It didn't even have any scratches or damages to make it seem like it had been in any danger.

"How do you have this?" he asked Eli.

"Gaius." he said simply like that answered everything. When Merlin still looked lost, he knew that wasn't enough. Gaius had warned him that Merlin could be slow on matters like this so he would need to explain further. "When you ran out to head the attack, he said that you would not give anything else a piece of your mind and would forget about what you would need in the future. Before we joined everyone in the tunnels, we went to your room. He had me search until we found your staff; said that you would be needing it...and this," he said going into his pocket. "Gaius also told me to take this for you too."

He pulled out Merlin's wooden dragon figurine that his father had given him. Merlin took it likely in his hand as if it were made of delicate glass. "He did?"

"Just what are they?" Eli asked as he saw that Merlin looked like he was fighting not to cry.

Merlin regained himself at the end of Eli's innocent question. "This...was a gift from my father," he said holding out the dragon figurine. He had spent the night right after the night the castle fell thinking how he'd truly lost the only real tangible thing from his father. "Thank you," he said looking Eli right in the eye.

Eli shrugged off the praise. "You don't have to thank me Merlin. I was just doing what Gaius told me."

"What about that staff?" asked Clara. She eyed it closely and in thought. "I'm sensing an energy vibrating off it."

Kalen stepped up to him and took the staff in his hand and turned it to look at all the writing carved into it. "Wait...this language. I know it." he said snapping his fingers. "It's on the tip of my mind but I just can't place it."

"The Sidhe," said Merlin. "It's a Sidhe staff."

Kalen snapped his fingers one last time before pointing to Merlin. "The blue fairies of Avalon?" At his affirming nod, he gasped out a laugh. "How did you get an artifact of the Sidhe? They aren't exactly the type to do deals with humans."

"It's a long story and now that I think on it, a funny one too," he said smiling at the memory of the horror and embarrassment that was on Arthur's face after he freed him from Sophia.

Eli rubbed his head as he was still lost. "I'm sorry, but I still don't know what's so special about that staff."

It was Clara who answered him. "I've heard of the artifacts that they forge. The staff is a both a conduit and amplifier of magical energies. An aid and tool of magic that very few magical smiths could hope to mimic in their art."

"Not even Rudolph?" he asked. Rudolph was Albion's head smith and was the one that was helping Merlin with modifying the armor and mail of Camelot's knights and soldiers.

"I'm sure Rudolph would definitely be up to the challenge." she said before going back to the matter at hand. "Now you see what I meant Merlin? Look at what your aid is. It isn't a sword or any other type of weapon but a tool."

Merlin turned the staff around in his hand and the blue stone on the top let out a faint glow. "A powerful tool." he said.

"For a powerful warlock," said Kalen.

"Wow," Eli said looking at the glowing stone on the staff before the glow faded.

"Now, let's go to work on your last bit of teleporting," said Clara moving Merlin to a space on the floor to continue their lessons.

* * *

Up in the sky, just over the ocean behind the mountains of Albion were Connor and Dylan. They were flying around and at each other, whacking each other with their swords and with their spells. The dragons Madoc and Kilgharrah were flapping their wings not too far away watching them. With the time of the start of the new war approaching, Connor and Dylan had to get in prime shape for war worthy combat and they knew that no one could help them prepare as well as each other. There were new sorcerers and strong warriors who undoubtedly will be armed with the Bloodguard's mystical weapons and their power was legendary. Also, with this new apparent freedom for magic users that Vortigern was offering, it would bring many out of hiding and some of them, they knew were quite dangerous. Some of them might even join the ranks of the Thorns themselves just like Mordred. Even the ones that were actually good would be tempted to join Vortigern against them with the promise of revenge being offered. Both Connor and especially Dylan could understand how the promise of revenge could bring people to someone's side.

Connor pointed his sword at Dylan and unleased a magical blast that took the shape of a horizontal cyclone. Dylan zipped of a bit to the right to avoid it and it grazed his cape a little before it collided with the water and made a big gush of water come up from the impact. "Either I'm getting faster or you're getting slower." he said smiling down on him a bit.

Dylan's eyes rose a bit from Connor's baiting. "Maybe this will tell us which," he said before unleashing a dark colored stream of energy from his palm.

Connor flipped back in the air and watched as the blast past by as he returned back to his original position. "No, I'm definitely faster."

Dylan hadn't put his hand down and he put on a smirk. "Perhaps, but I will always be smarter."

"What?" Connor said taken back by Dylan's confidence.

Suddenly, Connor felt something collide with his back and was pushing him down to the water. Dylan had still been controlling the blast and he knew that Connor would dodge it and think that's where the danger from it would be over so he had it turn around and come back at him. Connor was surprised but bit back the pain that was rushing through his body. He enchanted his hands and turned himself around. He grabbed onto the blast and then pushed hard on it and deflected it away into the sea. As it impacted in the water, he managed to bite back some of the lingering pain he was feeling and keep himself from continuing his plummet into the water when he was around 10 feet from the surface.

"You learned some new tricks," he said trying not to grip his stinging side. "I know that controlling magic freed like that isn't easy. You surprised me."

"And you can keep your focus while being surprised like that. A move like that would've won the match for me, no doubt. Except it didn't with you."

"Then let's keep going," Connor said drawing his sword out and flying for him and his blow met Dylan's own sword.

Madoc was cheering them on while Kilgharrah just watched on with a bit of a glare. The blast that Dylan fired, he could sense a great degree of pain and terror mixed in within it's magic. It made his scales crawl. As did the sight of the symbol that Dylan chose to wear, a black phoenix, a sight meaning 'a bringer of pure darkness.'

"_Aren't Connor and Dylan good_?" Madoc asked him.

"_They are truly skilled in mystical combat in ways I haven't seen in years but I still can't believe that Connor would allow such a loose force like Dylan to roam free_."

Madoc privately thought Kilgharrah was being unfair. He wasn't naive. He knew that Dylan wasn't exactly the cleanest person around but Madoc knew that he wanted to be better. And he still vowed to help Lionel protect him and his unborn kin. "_You should've seen him before. Dylan was a terror all by himself before Connor stepped in. He's a lot better now though and Connor keeps saying that we all will need him._"

"_He's still an unnecessary risk_," Kilgharrah insisted. "_His darkness may not be up to the same level as the witch but it is dangerous yet_."

"_The witch? What witch_?"

"_I'll explain later. The point is that dark sorcerers only bring trouble. They make the world unstable. I tried to warn Merlin about this but he refused to listen and he saw what happened when he didn't heed my advice_."

"_Dylan may be a bit on edge but he is one I can call a friend. He has helped protect me ever since I hatched_."

"_Yet, I can see that his future spells the end of Camelot's colors. That would definitely harm the building trust between the two peoples. Perhaps it would be best to warn Connor about that. He's too dangerous to keep around._"

"_You don't have to. Connor already knows about that_."

"_What_?" he asked shocked. "_What do you mean Connor knows?_"

Back with the two sorcerers, they kept whacking away at each other in the air; oblivious to the talk on them between the two mighty dragons. Dylan flew back and stared him down. An aura of darkness surrounded his outline before it stretched off and formed two dark circles on either side of him. After a second clawed hands began to emerge from them. Connor saw two winged creatures that looked like a mix of gargoyles and wolves.

"You're getting more imaginative." he said as the creatures took full form at Dylan's side.

"And you're getting braver. The last time I conjured this thing was against a group of bandits and they ran for the hills at the sight of it."

"I've seen worse."

"Don't worry. You'll soon see worser." Dylan smirked and then snapped his fingers and the two creatures flew for him with their claws ready to draw blood. As Connor flapped and ricocheted away from the creatures that were sicced on him, Dylan thoughts went over to Vortigern's new foothold in these lands. Or more specifically to what he had heard Micah once tell him what was held in the vaults of Camelot. When Connor informed him of Vortigern's plunder, he knew the real danger behind it. The rulers, Merlin, and a few others in the Order were worrying about the weapons housed there; yet Dylan knew that those weapons were just seen by Vortigern and Mab as a bonus. The real prize was Micah's ancient box.

Micah had once said that Camelot's brutality against him had made Dylan the perfect person to wield the power within the pages of a book he kept in there. He believed he called it something ending with Grimore. Yet, he knew that it held great powerful secrets deriving from the source of the Thorn's practices of soul absorbion. With what he had felt and heard from this Mordred, it looks like Angus and Mab had found a replacement to his own wrath to use that book. Not to mention what else was in that chest. He only ever told Connor, Malcolm and Lionel of these secrets and they alone truly trusted letting Dylan be a part of this fight.

Connor swung his sword and lopped off the head of one of them and it faded into nothing. He dropped down to avoid the swipe of a claw from the other and then plunged his blade into the creature's heart. The creature's wail faded as it's body did like the first one. Dylan brandished his sword and went after Connor himself to commence their training.

* * *

Kalen and Merlin were flying off in the air with Arthur on Emrys as he roared into the sky. Arthur was sitting to the back looking down at the map that had the druid camp that his knights had marked. Connor and Malcolm had expressed concerns for the druid people as they said that Vortigern was well aware of the friendship their communities had with Albion and wouldn't hesistate to use that against them. And, with Vortigern having some of Arthur's knights as captives, it was only a matter of time before he got wind of the location of the camp that they found. There were other camps that were hidden but this one was the only one that was public knowledge to the knights thanks to the issues that arose between Arthur and Merlin on the subject of relocating them over two weeks before Vortigern took Camelot. Kalen had volunteered to go to the camp and warn them to move, preferably close by to Albion's territory, but Merlin and Arthur had surprised both Connor and Malcolm with their insistence to join him. Although, Arthur's choice surprised Merlin the most. He didn't think Arthur would insist to do something like this and would just leave it to him.

Arthur was trying hard to concentrate on the map and not to look down on the ground. He wanted to try and pretend he wasn't so high in the air but the flapping wind greatly ruined that thought without much work.

Merlin looked back at Arthur on Connor's Chimera and went back a little to talk with him. "Arthur."

Arthur refolded the map and put it in his shirt. "What Merlin?" he said gritting his teeth.

"Are you okay?" he asked noticing his tense stance.

"Let's see Merlin, I'm up in the air on a three headed creature with wings and this wind makes me feel like I'll get thrown off any second. How do you think I am?"

Merlin rolled his eyes but had his face facing out before doing it. "You're riding on Emrys. I'm not riding on anything but thin air and I'm fine." he shrugged.

This time, Arthur rolled his eyes and made sure Merlin saw he did. Though when his eyes rolled down, he was treated again to the heights. "Well good for you. You have to be okay in the air to fly but this is my first time so forgive me for not being as comfortable as I am on a horse." He tightened his hold on Emrys back which made his eagle head caw a little in aggravation. He just stared at his hands determined not to look down again.

"Relax Arthur," said Merlin flying a little bit higher. "Try looking out on the horizon. It'll help. Try thinking how no king has seen the land like you're seeing for centuries."

"Probably for good reason," he breathed out. "Couldn't you just take us there with magic? You seemed to do pretty well when you made fall back in my chair."

When Clara had finished going through the basics of the long distance teleporting. However, she warned that the stones marking the boundaries of their land helped prevent sorcerers from teleporting in from the outside so he couldn't use it to take a short cut into Albion from the outside unless he wanted to seriously hurt himself. So, when he was sure he could handle it, he teleported himself from the Academy straight into Arthur's tent. He and Gwen had returned from the meeting they had in Albion and were just settling and enjoying some tea and talking. Yet, all of a sudden, Merlin appeared close by and it caused Gwen to jump in her chair while Arthur jumped so harshly in fear of attack that his chair fell back and he landed on his back. Merlin laughed so hard that tears had formed in his eyes at that while Arthur glared at Merlin and Gwen helped him up trying to fight the laugh that was threatening to come out.

"We could, if we'd been there before. We could only transport ourselves to a place where we've been before and we haven't been to that camp before so we can't. So this is the fastest and the safest way to get there."

"I can agree on fast but I'm still holding out on safe," Arthur said as he tightened the stress on his closed eyes as the wind hit his face. "How much longer until we get there?"

"I'd say that we'll be there in a bit. Just hold on there a bit longer. And take it easy on Emrys there."

"Easy for you to say." Merlin didn't have to worry about falling down from the air like Arthur had to. Emrys apparently didn't appreciate that remark and slapped Arthur on the side of the head with his wing before continuing on.

"You know, you didn't have to come. Kalen and I could've handled talking with the druids. You could've stayed in Albion."

Arthur took a deep breath and focused his vision on Merlin. "I do know that but I still need to talk to them. I never got to get the message to them that I was going to allow them to stay where they were. It won't mean as much if someone else told them about my decision. Also, with the treaty that they have with Albion, it might be better if I try and convince them to move for their own safety. I might make them see reason...if they are willing to listen to me."

"Still...I could've done that. The Druids and I are actually on very good terms. I could've passed on the message on your behalf and they would've listened."

Arthur eyes narrowed a little. "I don't doubt that Merlin...but I still want to do it myself."

Merlin was silently looking at him for a moment before he nodded a bit. "Okay," he said simply before turning to look back on ahead.

Arthur looked back at the fur surrounding his clenched fist as his mind drifted on to the druids. Well, really to one of them: Mordred. How he accused Arthur of being honorable and merciful to the Druids and then turning around and being merciless against them. He started remembering times when he was both. He had argued with his father on the ways to dealing with them and often spoke of showing mercy, not as passionately as Morgana had, but adamantly still. They were a peaceful people. However, that didn't stop him from following his orders to take no prisoners of a camp of unarmed people on his first expedition to retrieve Morgana. He also remembered the time his father sent him to find the Cup of Life. He had not come to harm the druids that apparently saved Leon's life and yet he held a sword to a druid boy's throat for the cup, which they gave to him with no trouble at all and even before he let the boy go. Was Mordred's attitude on him how a good many of them were feeling? How long would it be before more of them followed Mordred's example and started to get consumed in their wrath to him and started hurting people?

They kept flying for about half an hour before Kalen halted in the air and made his body stand horizontally in the air. This caused both Merlin and Emrys to hover right behind him. They were right above a thick brush of forest as far as they could see.

"We're here," he said simply before dropping down. There was a small clearing where he was descending upon. He was dropping down and straight until he suddenly stopped with his feet just a few inches from the ground. He then let his feet touch down softly.

"Show off," Merlin said before he started to descend a little slower and not as straight as Kalen did. He had a bit more of a rougher landing but he was firmly on the ground again.

Emrys roared as he touched down just a bit away from them with his wings flapping and then he retracted them when his four feet were on the ground. Arthur then climbed off like he was a common horse and then breathed in a deep breath.

"Happy to be on the ground again?" Kalen said with a hint of amusement though he still had a hard look on his face.

Merlin tried to hide a smile of his own when he saw that Kalen seemed to start to warm to Arthur. Maybe not enough to be friendly to him but this was a start especially considering that Kalen was one who had for the longest greatly despised the Pendragons.

"Maybe," Arthur said with a hint of amusement in his own tone. He then looked about. "This definitely is the area on the map that was marked by my knights."

"They're right up ahead," Kalen said pointing right in front of him.

"How do you know?"

"I can feel them." he answered. "They're close and with all the brush, we won't find them in the air."

Merlin let his senses flow and then started hearing some voices in the air from some of the Druids' mind speak. "Yeah, I can hear them too."

"Hear them?" Arthur focused his hearing out but didn't understand what Merlin meant. "I don't hear anything but some birds...and our breathing."

"One of the druids' main forms of communication is to converse with each other within their minds," he explained. "It's one of the most basic magical abilities out there and it's their favorite one to use. I can hear their mental voices echoing around here so they're close."

"Does that mean that they could read minds too?"

"That's a load of hooey," said Kalen. "There is no magic for reading minds...not yet anyway," he said as an afterthought.

Merlin rolled his eyes. "I think they're this way," he said leading the way.

They walked for a few minutes until there was a faint, audible, flow of voices echoing in the trees. They caught sight of some smoke through the trees and soon found some rows of tents. This seemed like an average sized camp, about the same size as the last one that Merlin and Arthur had been to. Arthur lagged a little behind, looking about awkwardly as Merlin and Kalen walked calmly into the camp and had eyes settle on them.

"Sir Kalen!" yelled one of the children pointing to him.

At the child's shout, some of the druids came over to shake his hand and Kalen asked if they could get the camp's chief. One of the men ran to get him while some of the druids shook Kalen's hand in welcome or bowed to Merlin like he was a noble. Some of the children and even young men also went to Connor's Chimera and started to pet each of the three heads and he seemed to like the fawning. Arthur stayed where he was and didn't seem to have any of them notice him yet. It was a little while longer before a weathered looking older man came onto the scene.

"Sir Kalen...and Emrys, both of them. This is a pleasure. I'm Aegen, the elder of this camp. To what do we owe this visit?"

"Sadly Aegen, this isn't just a visit," said Kalen.

And it's not just us visiting," Merlin said before looking behind him. "King Arthur is also here to speak to all of you."

The camp followed his gaze and they fell on Arthur. His red colors stood out with all the dark and weathered colors of the robes, trees and tents almost gave him the feeling of a bullseye. Some of the druids looked upon him calmly. Others tensed a little at the sight of him and stepped back. Some of the really young children went behind someone. Some of the men and women narrowed their eyes at him. Yet, one very young man drew Arthur's attention. He had fallen back and stared back at Arthur in shock and fear. Arthur recognized him. It was the druid boy that he held his sword to his throat.

"Easy there Daegal," said Aegen to him as he bent to help him up. "I don't think that Arthur is here to hurt anyone." Daegal didn't look too reassured.

Daegal, now that boy had a name. Arthur looked from him to the entire camp. He let out a deep breath he had been holding and then cleared his throat. "I am Arthur Pendragon, the King of Camelot, or what remains of it. I know that many of you must be wondering why we've come here. You will find out but...I must say something before we start on that. I realize that your people should have no reason to even care for what I have to say. Honestly, with what both my father and I have done, I wouldn't be inclined to care either. I pride myself as a brave and honorable man. A true follower of the knights' code. Yet, when it's come to your people, Camelot's knights haven't been treating you as knights should. We've stormed your camps with weapons drawn when you haven't raised one in turn. We've always treated you as enemies of war and yet the casualties have always been on you. I'm sure that most if not all of you have suffered the loss of friends and loved ones by our hands. The Knights of Camelot are counted on to be protectors of the peace but I see now that we acted like common bandits in our pursuit of you." He then looked off and centered on Daegal. "Like I did when I held my sword at Daegal's throat against a group of unarmed, timid and scared men for an object in their possession. I hadn't wanted to hurt anyone and yet I behaved like a common thief and didn't care about the fear I struck into him or his fellow men. I want to personally apologize to him right now. I realize that this might be long overdue but, I am very sorry." he said that looking unblinkingly into Daegal's eyes. Daegal didn't say anything but Arthur saw tears running down the sides of his eyes.

"As for the rest of your people, deep down, I knew that the raids were wrong. Yet, I didn't stop them. Truth be told, I didn't even question them. My father always told me that your people deserved no mercy as it would make us seem weak. That we had to be brave and do our duty. I understand now that we were indeed weak. It's not strength to attack people who can't or won't fight back. That is the act of cowardice not bravery. The reason we even knew you were here was because a patrol of mine found this camp months ago and I had, at first, wanted to move you out of your homes. I had made that the duty to be done by our treaty with your friends in Albion. Rest assured, they immediately refused and defended your rights to stay here and live as you are."

Arthur paused and took a few seconds to look at everyone so far. Some druids were staring at him with even harder looks and one was even gritting his teeth. Aegen and some others' had blank looks in their faces as they calmly listened. Others were silently crying the further Arthur went on. Kalen had his arms folded and his eyes were closed as he listened. Merlin's eyes were shiny but he was just staring back at him and when they caught each other's gaze, he slightly nodded. He didn't know if it was magic or not, but Arthur could almost swear that he heard Merlin's voice in his head say: Go on, don't stop.

"I know that you probably won't believe this, I wouldn't believe it either. Merlin, or Emrys as you most likely know him by, let me have it on your rights to live in peace. Let me say that while he might be an annoying idiot," he said drawing in a chuckle from his friend. "he is a noble one. I can truly understand the hope you have in him and that's even before the magic he commands. I was convinced by him to allow you all to stay here. I know that many of you would be skeptical to that as it was never announced as it was decided right before my kingdom fell. For you to stay and keep living in peace as any other non magical citizen of my kingdom that isn't a danger to anyone. As citizens of Camelot, that means that your well-being and protection are my responsibility. Which brings us to why the three of us came here today. Your location became public in my court which means that it's only a matter of time before it gets to Vortigern's attention. While, he may have formally declared magic in his new territories free, he won't hesitate to take out his wrath on you. You are friends and allies to Lord Connor of Albion, one of his most hated enemies and he will use you in any way he chooses. You are in danger here...and while I have no right to tell you what to do I must insist that you leave this place. Both Connor and I hope that you choose to head for Albion for your utmost safety but we know we can't force you. And we won't. We merely ask that you make sure that if you do choose to move that it is somewhere where you will be out of Vortigern's sight." Arthur never felt this winded from talking before. With how hot he felt and how stressed his mind was, he would think that he had been in a fight. He let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding before moving to finish. "Well, that is all. I hope you will take my words to heart and again, while I know it doesn't even begin to justify or erase what has been done to any of you, I am sorry."

A few moments after that, Arthur found himself back on Emrys but somehow, had not even minded the heights as he did the trip there earlier. Kalen was just staring ahead and not really thinking of anything but getting back home and informing Connor that the warning against Vortigern was delivered, Merlin was off to Emrys' side and every now and then, looked over at Arthur. Sometimes, he would let out a tear, or he would softly smile at his friend for what he knew couldn't have been an easy time.

* * *

After two weeks of battle planning and information gathering, the rulers readied a force to begin creating a foothold on this part of the land. Arthur had wanted to try to head north and retake Camelot, however, the Vikings had fortified their presence in Camelot's territories almost iron clad. And that was just from the Vikings, not counting the Thorns and their creatures. Solid lines of defense from any push towards the north. They were prepared for the occasion that they would push north from Albion to try and go for Vortigern's new Wirtgernesburg. Arthur was disappointed but understood that many lives would be lost if they just charged through to where Vortigern was hold up in his newly completed castle where Camelot's had stood.

The best chance was to go around those lines instead of through them. Based on what they could find out from their scouts, the other conquered areas had smaller presences of Alined and Bayard's former armies while it seemed Odin and his army held dominion over Annis' kingdom. So, they decided that they would go about to push out Vortigern was to head east and start retaking Godwyn and Olaf's lands before heading north to retake Annis' kingdom before converging on to Camelot in more than one direction.

They were preparing a force to go to Camelot's taken fort in the south before Vortigern could use it as a starting post to push on into Albion's territory. With this, they hoped to have a foothold over the south of the kingdom before moving east, on the the others. This fort had about a few Vikings but mostly was occupied by Bayard's former men. There were also a handful of ogres helping to keep watch. The force they rose against it consisted of about two dozen of Camelot's men as well as a handful of the Order with some Albion soldiers and a contingent of Welsh and Celtic soldiers added in.

Galahad, Kalen, Flint, Leon, Elyan and Tristan were going about, organizing the men to see that they were all ready and prepared to march for the fort to make the offensive. Percival was with Merlin and they were helping in distributing the finished magically enhanced armor to Camelot's men. Their armor plates and chainmail were now spelled to help guard against magical strikes though Merlin made it clear that they weren't truly shielded from them. They could still get hurt, or worse, if the attack was strong enough to pierce through its protection like blades could with their armor and mail. Arthur had advised his men that they take Merlin's warning seriously and that got the more sceptical men to take it in without question.

And on the subject of Arthur, Merlin looked around and couldn't find him. "Percival, where's Arthur?"

Percival shrugged. "I think he's still getting ready."

"And he complained about my lateness? Everyone's nearly armed and ready to go. Even I'm ready." Connor had presented Merlin with a set of robes with a hood that had protective magics woven into the fabric. He explained that he had ordered it's tailorship right after Merlin left for Camelot as Albion's ambassador as a thank you for sparing his people from a war at their doorstep during their festival and for saving him. It was the blue hue of Albion's colors with a belt baring a gold buckle in the shape of a dragon in flight. He liked it and thanked Connor for it gratefully. Gaius had even said that it suited him.

"Nearly," he pointed back. "Calm down Merlin. There's time. Besides, I think that your robes have a time advantage over our armor."

"Well, I'm going to go check on him." he said taking off for the camp.

Arthur was getting ready with Gale's help and Gwen was watching nearby. She looked over the armor that she now knew was enchanted to provide protection from the Thorns' magic effects of the stolen souls and added cover from standard magic attacks.

"How does the new armor feel?"

Arthur glanced at the metal that he was wrapped with. He brought out his bottom lip a bit and shook his head. "Doesn't feel too different."

"I just hope that the new armor doesn't get put to the test out there."

"I'll be fine Gwen. This isn't my first battle. Magical or not."

"But it's the first offensive one that you've waged. What if Vortigern is expecting us to make a move like this?"

"If he is then he is. The only way to know for sure is to find out. We can't just wait around until he decides to attack this valley again. There are too many civilians in the village, camp and city and too many could get hurt if the fight keeps getting brought here."

"I know...but I'm still worried. Make sure that you and everyone will be okay."

"I always do." Gale finished the fastening on his cape and then stepped back. "Gale," he said nearly startling him. "This is the first time you're going out with me on something like this. Please be sure to stay back and out of harms way. I've had enough experiences with Merlin to know how wild these things could go."

"Trust me sire, I'm no where near as brave as Merlin. I know I'm just a servant and have no place on the battlefield. As soon as the fighting starts, you can count on me to stay clear."

Arthur actually smiled. "You may not be as brave as him but I can see you're smarter."

"Hey."

They looked to the flap and saw that Merlin was standing there with his arms crossed looking at Arthur a little indignant.

"What? It's true. Gale seems to have more sense than you ever did." he said with a smirk.

"Good for him," he returning it. Merlin then looked out the tent and turned back to him. "Everyone's ready."

"Okay." Arthur closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again. "I'm coming."

Arthur walked out of the tent with Gwen following right after him with Merlin and Gale bringing up the rear. Gwen made a comment of how Merlin's new robes matched his eyes which made Merlin fight a blush and Arthur fight a snort.

* * *

**End of Chapter 28**

A/N: I'm getting really excited. I have the timeline of the events in the next story planned out and can't wait to start writing it. And, with the help of the poll, I am confident on where to put the choices into the story's plotline. Well, there is only one chapter left in this one. The last one will have a special cameo return of a certain someone as well a feel of things to come. I hope you are looking forward to it. The war for Albion begins.


	29. The War for Albion

**Doubts in the Path to Destiny**

A/N: Yes, I've changed the title of the story and I'll explain why at the end. The last chapter and the return of a certain lady. First let me say that I'm happy that this story hit past 10,000 views before it had even finished. It pumps me up for the next one even more. Also, loved the comments on the last chapter. I have to say that the hardest part for that one was actually the beginning with Merlin and I'm glad someone said they liked it. I was shocked that you all really loved the scene with Arthur, Merlin and the Druids. That one, was actually the easiest. From the time they entered the camp to the finished actually took me about ten minutes to write so I'm flattered to think that I easily wrote something you all liked. Anyway, I hope you will like these next events just as much. They foretell what's to come, starting with my chosen quote.

* * *

_The past is never where you think you left it._

~ Katherine Anne Porter

* * *

Chapter 29: The War for Albion

When the four of them reached the perimeter of the camp, they found Gaius waiting for them.

"You're going now?" he asked.

"Yes," said Arthur. "It's time."

"They're all waiting for you sire." Gaius looked to Merlin and slowly went for a hug. "You be careful."

"You don't have to worry about me Gaius. Not anymore."

"I don't have to but I will anyway." He looked down and saw that Merlin was holding his staff. "Be careful with that. I might not be able to get it to you again."

"Thank you Gaius." Merlin said simply. It was all he really could say.

Guinevere lightly kissed Arthur before going in for a soft hug. "Come back to me safe and sound, do you hear me Arthur."

"You don't have to worry Gwen. I will."

"He has me watching over him. I'll see that he gets back in one piece."

Arthur sucked on his teeth. "Why'd you have to say that Merlin? Now Guinevere is going to worry herself silly now with you to depend on."

Gwen gave a light laugh. She didn't know why but seeing Arthur and Merlin tease each other like children seemed to reassure her more than their promises. She went and gave Merlin a small hug too. Then they and Gale took off for the assembling men at the valley's perimeter with Gaius and Gwen watching them go off in silence.

When Arthur finally arrived, his eyes were assaulted by a rainbow of colors. There was about near a hundred men suited and ready and they were not just in the red of Camelot. There was the spots of blue for the Order of the Bear and Albion, green for the Welsh and a brown and green mix for the Celts. Annis, Elena and Vivian wanted to volunteer some of their own men but Arthur talked them out of it. If there was any funny and surprising tricks involved, then they would at least have some warning on what to expect from Vortigern the next time. Every battle Arthur had been in, he'd always fought with the strength and support of Camelot's men. Never before had Arthur or his knights march for battle alongside others representing other people. It really started to come into focus just how much had changed the course of these past months.

After he finished looking over the force, he immediately headed for where the heads of this regiment was gathered. Galahad, Flint and Kalen had volunteered to lead the their men and Bedivere along with his most capable celtic men was joining them as well as Lord Kent for his elite armada of Welsh. Leon, Percival, Elyan and Tristan were there too and seemed to be going over a final check. His other knights, he could see were among the men ready to march.

"Everything is ready?" he asked as soon as he came in their hearing range.

"We think so sire," said Leon. "Our men are suited, armed and waiting for your word. Albion and Eire appear ready as well."

He looked over at the two men who were standing a little bit away with the three Order members. He didn't yet know Bedivere or Lord Kent very well yet but Merlin had assurances from Connor that they wouldn't regret having them. "Are you all ready to go as well?"

"Me and my men are ready as we'll ever be Arthur," said Bedivere. He was a little pale but did look like he was indeed ready. He guessed from their previous talks that this was Bedivere's first real battle but he seemed to be handling better than most would.

"As are mine," said Kent. He seemed as calm as any other noble or knight that Arthur had known before they headed into a battle. Kent was clearly a man who seen and been in plenty of battles in his lifetime. "I know Kay would be here if he could but he'll have to settle for having me here in his place."

Arthur nodded. "Thank you," he said before turning to three men who he had to admit he had faith in. "And you?"

"Ready and waiting," said Galahad.

"Okay."

Then they all went off to mount their readied horses. Gale brought Arthur one that had been given to him from Albion's stables helped him mount it. Before Arthur could start moving forward, his eyes were drawn to a shape in the sky. A red winged shape. It made him let out a small smile before he started to move on.

As the force marched off the valley, they were being observed by Malcolm, Connor and Lionel.

"There they go," said Lionel. He looked over at Connor. "Are you sure that you shouldn't go with them?"

"I'm sure they can handle it. Besides, I have to stay and help Elena with our tactics for after the battle. After they take back that outpost, we will be pushing onto her lands first as per the plan."

"You're really going to trust Arthur with the safety of your men?"

"He trusted us with the safety of his," he pointed out. "It's only fair that I return the favor. Besides, I know that my men can handle themselves out there. They aren't in the Order for nothing you know."

"I know that, but that doesn't mean that they shouldn't have someone worrying about them."

Malcolm looked over at his magical friend. "You've really been taken by them haven't you?"

Connor shrugged. "I don't know. I think I'd like to hate them but its just too hard to. Arthur and his knights may have gotten on my nerves at first but...I guess they've grown on me. Makes me think that we really could've been good friends if things had been different."

"So...what? You've forgiven Camelot for what they've done?"

"Don't get me wrong Malcolm. I may not hold it over Arthur and his friends, but I will never forget what their kingdom has done, ever. My nightmares can attest to that. I can move past it, but I'll never forget it. Ever." he said softly but it seemed to make the strength behind his words even harder.

"Good for you then," Malcolm said watching the sea of red, green and blue fade into the forests. "Everyone else around here might not find they can do that."

"But, I know it wasn't Arthur or Guinevere or his men that placed my mother on that pyre or my father. Neither was it them that killed Brigid's sister, or killed Brim." he said looking at his other friend. "I know that Arthur isn't exactly clean of any of this, but unlike his father, he is truly trying to make amends. Which is something that Uther never would've done if his life depended on it. Kalen told us what he'd said when he went to the camp. That makes me think Merlin might be right after all. After everything that has happened between the two of them, he never stopped having faith in him. Probably wavered a bit but still wouldn't stop. Perhaps that should tell us something. Maybe Arthur is more his mother's son over his father's."

As soon as the men disappeared from sight, Connor went off to handle some business leaving Malcolm and Lionel behind. Malcolm just stared after him. "Maybe," he said softly. "But, maybe still isn't definitely."

"Maybe." Lionel eyes were drawn to a moving shape in the sky above and saw that it was Madoc. Madoc's gaze seemed to follow the path that the army took, that Arthur took. Personally, he thought Connor might be right. He does hate Uther and what he'd done to his old master and his kin. He will forever live without his forsaken name in shame of what was lost then because of him; but it's not easy to hate Arthur just the same. Not when Madoc seems to have bonded with him. "It seems Madoc also has faith in Arthur. After all, he'd taken kindly to Dylan and despite what he's done Dylan is on the road to turning himself around, slowly but surely."

"That's makes me even more worried," Malcolm said closing his eyes. "Besides you can't compare the two. They are different. Dylan never had anyone to have faith in him, just use him. Arthur is something else entirely and I don't want Merlin to get hurt." While he may argue with the man, he really had actually grown fond of Merlin and his quirky nature. Merlin may have had some doubts but never have faltered on his belief in Arthur and Malcolm was worried for him. He knew someone else who had such strong faith in Arthur and the future he was so called destined to deliver and Arthur had answered it by ripping his heart out. He gripped the strips that held his lute to his back, the evidence of Arthur's own crimes and sins. He could still remember the sight of his broken friend, crying over the corpse of his last remaining family surrounded by other corpses of innocent people, courtesy of Arthur himself. "It's still to early for any of us to put any faith in Arthur. Not when there is still one thing left to compare him with his father."

Lionel narrowed his eyes. "What's that?"

"You'll see...if he ever learns the truth and has to choose to let me live or kill me. Then we'll see if he truly is his father's son or not." Malcolm then walked away with his eyes still closed leaving Lionel standing there more confused.

* * *

Over in Essitir, in Cenred's former castle now King Lot's castle, a guard entered the throne room and knelt on one knee in front of the throne. The man on the throne had a golden crown on his head with and had on a black fur outfit. He was around his mid thirties and had a rugged look about him.

"Sire," the guard said with a bow of his head.

"What is it?"

"The party has returned from visiting King Vortigern. They are in the courtyard now."

"See to it that they are escorted immediately to me."

"Yes sire," the guard said before running out the door.

King Lot settled into his throne as he calmly waited for the report. The ruler on this throne was very different from the one who previously sat in it. When Cenred fell, many of the nobles of Essitir and Cenred's allied warlords started to pull and even fight each other to claim the new throne. Lot, the Saxon warlord, used both his cunning and his strength to come out on top and took the throne and the kingdom and prided himself to be better than Cenred. He would never let himself be bullied or cower to thieves, slave traders or witches like Cenred had been. Cenred was spineless, he was ruthless. Cenred believed that as king, he was untouchable yet whenever something came that seemed to slightly challenge him then he would turn the other way, like he had no real pride. It was no wonder that he was killed after his value was done to someone else. He would never fall like that fool had.

Yet, Lot knew that Vortigern was a different case. He was more powerful than him and his enemies. Vortigern commanded the legendary Vikings and had an army of beasts that couldn't be destroyed by a conventional army. Now as he publicly ended the Great Purge, sorcerers would be flocking to his side and make him even more powerful. He already conquered all the other kingdoms in the land and knew that he would just be next. He had already destroyed his enemies and taken their kingdoms and knew he could only benefit from joining with him. Who knew what else Vortigern had planned to increase his power and if he joined him, he might be able to have a share in it. Especially with what he had to offer Vortigern against Arthur's pet dragonlord and sorcerer Merlin.

His ambassador came into the room soon after and bowed to Lot before speaking. "Sire, we are back with good news."

"Excellent. What have you to report? Were the rumors true?"

"Yes. Camelot is completely gone. No sign of the former city or castle. Instead, a new castle, even larger and taller, is now standing on the site. Vortigern's sorcerers were converting the rubble of Camelot into supplies for its construction and he is using Camelot's captured forces to be the ones to build it for him."

"Unbelievable," Lot said more to himself than his ambassador. "To not only destroy Camelot but even use it's former strength and foundations to carry his new legacy. He might be mightier than even I guessed. How about Vortigern himself?"

"He is young sire. About Arthur's own age but he seems to have great control over his new lands with the help of his council. Sorcerers that call themselves the Thorns. And they are powerful themselves."

"But he has full control over them?"

"Yes. They obey him without question and bow to him like any other subject."

Lot's eyebrows rose a bit more. He was actually starting to not only respect and fear Vortigern but even like him. "What did he have to say of my offer?"

"Vortigern has accepted your offer of alliance. He says that he will come to us himself in a month."

Lot smiled to himself and leaned back into his throne again. "You've done well. You are dismissed."

"Sire."

Everyone started to clear his throne room as he left through another door to head for the stables. He got on his horse and rode to a mountain cave behind his castle. There, at the entrance to that cave were over a dozen of his Saxon soldiers keeping guard.

"Are my guests awake?" he asked getting off his horse.

"They started crying again about an hour ago sire."

Lot let out a small grin. "Good." This was another way he was a better and stronger king and man than Cenred. While he could find magic to be useful, he knew that you had to have control of sorcerers, not be controlled like his foolish predecessor. He entered and came upon the small pit where he knew that his guests were. He got a torch and used it to glimpse down into it to the witch and her pet dragon, both chained and bound with runic anti-magical iron chains. "How are my two lady guests doing today?"

The white dragon just looked up at him with his pale eyes and hissed at him while it used its wings to hug the woman next to her. However, the wings didn't hide her face, once beautiful and strong. It was now pale, dirty and pained. Subjected to both physical and mental anguish at Lot's command by his men and his own secret band of sorcerers.

"Don't cry like that you two. I've actually come to bring you good news. Morgana, it seems that your and your dragon's time for freedom is coming. Yet, don't forget that if you don't heed my words and orders, it will be back to the pits for both of you. And, you could expect daily doses of my obedience training instead of annual" he said before storming away and taking away the light from his torch leaving them again in darkness.

The white dragon moved her head Morgana's face and started to caress it when she felt that she was to shed tears again. Morgana kept shedding tears until she literally cried herself to sleep. Her dreams usually filled with more memories of the torture of both herself and Aithusa by Lot and his men's brutal and mystical methods. However, today, she saw something different.

She saw a man wearing a crown she'd never seen before standing by Lot and Mordred. Behind him were legions of men and hellish creatures. Creatures that looked like they were pulled from hell itself. The new king had a demented look in his eyes and smiled arrogantly at the sight before him. They were facing down another army of men in colors of red, blue, and green. The scene changed and Morgana then saw a man in armor and a red cape with another man in blue robes looking down at a woman on the ground with Aithusa nearby pained and exhausted being nuzzled affectionately by a red dragon. She then saw a woman, beautiful but cold, flying in the air raining down powerful bursts of magic on a city with a statue of a man holding his hand out in the center. Then she saw Arthur, proud and standing tall on a hill she knew that would look down at Camelot being given a crown on his head. Rows of knights and warriors in red, blue and green watching him with smiles and pride. In the air were Aithusa and that same red dragon flapping their wings and observing the whole thing with a much bigger golden dragon watching them further away. On the ground close by the rows of armed men were ordinary citizens also watching. Her attention came upon a man dressed up with noble dragon attire with four small baby dragons of varying colors perched on his shoulders, open palm and atop his head. Next to him were two people in hooded robes of blue and black though before she could see their faces, she woke up when some water from the caves' roof dripped down to the hole and hit her face.

Leagues away in Wirtgernesburg castle, the crystal on the hilt of Clarent started to glow with the same images. Mordred was away from it behind his changing screen. Before he finished changing he could sense something in the air. He saw the reflection of a glow on the wall in front of him. He was pulled to look around his screen, back towards Clarent where he had left it but the glow had stopped by the time he was able to lock eyes on it. The last image he'd seen was Emrys in a blue robe with the hood up standing next to a woman in a black hooded robe. A woman who looked like... The images stopped and he rubbed his eyes. He stared at crystal on the hilt of his sword for a few moments before going back to finish changing.

* * *

Over across the sea, Sirs Gwaine and Kay were leaning over the bannister of the ship, leaving the port in Eire to head back to Albion. They had just left their banished prisoners of war on the great isle to try and have a second chance at life.

"I have to say," Kay said looking over at Gwaine. "You're doing okay for your first boat ride."

Gwaine just smiled at that. "I can hold my liquor pretty well. What makes you think I wouldn't be able to hold myself because of a few choppy waves?"

"Who knew being a drunk could be useful for something like this?"

"It has its moments." The water was so blue, as blue as the sky. Gwaine was almost happy that he chose to undertake this voyage though, he was a little worried about his friends that were undoubtedly about to head into battle without him. "Do you think any of them will be alright?"

Kay didn't need to guess what Gwaine meant. He was thinking about his friends too. "They'll be fine. My friends and I have been through the near impossible together. It would take a lot to bring them down."

"I guess so. We've been through a lot too. Even when it looked like we wouldn't win, we still found a way to push on and come out on top. I just wish I was with them again."

"Don't worry, there will be plenty of times ahead for that. We have our mission to finish before we could join them on theirs."

"Maybe you're right. But I can't help but feel that the worst isn't even here yet."

"You know, Gwaine, Lord Gwaine I mean, he used to tell me that in all bad times they will always get worse before they can get better. The thing to remember is that when you are given a small reprieve from it, you should make it a good one." Kay then chanted a spell that made two bottle of ale fly from a porthole up into their hands. "So let's make the one we have now a good one."

Gwaine chuckled as they clanged their bottles together and drunk to their friends.

* * *

When the new army were less than three hour march away, they decided to stop and make camp in the cover of the nearby woods. Campfires were lit easily with the flick of hands by Albion's sorcerers and everyone was try to settle and rest themselves up for tomorrow's inevitable battle. The camp was being guarded by Albion's soldier marionettes and, though Arthur did believe that they were capable of keeping firm watch, had a few of his men assist them. He still felt that he and his men would be comfortable if there were human eyes watching out for the camp's safety as well. Galahad informed him that they weren't offended at all and completely understood.

The men made sure to get all the sleep they could before they woke up with the rising sun. They marched on before the sight of the fort was on their field of vision. The gleam of their metal armor and mail alerted the watchtowers of the fort and they could hear the sound of the horns for them to prepare for attack. All those on horseback were dismounting as their servants and helpers were leading them away. As everyone else was getting ready Arthur looked over to Merlin and the staff in his hands.

"You sure you want to carry that thing?" he asked.

"It hasn't let me down yet. This thing has helped me save my life and yours many a time before."

He didn't see what was really so special about a piece of polished wood with a blue gemstone on the top but he knew enough at this point to argue about these kinds of things. "If you say so. Just be careful out there, okay?"

"Don't worry about me Arthur. I'll be fine." Merlin looked towards the fort where he could make out the giant shapes of the ogres wielding clubs and heaving axes. Over a dozen with some hippogriffs and gargoyles taking flight from within the fort into the sky above it. "I should be the one who should be telling you to be careful."

"Right, because I can't handle myself on a battlefield," he said with a small smile. "It's not my first time battling against an army of men and beasts. I'll be okay Merlin. You however, you're not a soldier."

"And I won't pretend to be one. I'm a warlock, not a soldier. I know that this time. I'll be out there doing what I do best."

"Getting on my nerves?"

"Okay, the second thing I do best," Merlin said not losing a beat to Arthur's bait. "Making sure that we fulfill our destinies."

Arthur gripped Merlin's shoulder with a small smile. They just looked on at each other without saying another word before it became time. After all, they didn't really think they could say anything that would be fitting right now. Arthur, Galahad, Bedivere and Kent readied their lines of men and stood at the front of them with Leon, Percival, Tristan, Elyan, Kalen, Flint, and Merlin beside them. They raised their weapons up as one and their men followed suit with them letting out a great big roar that made the hearts of their enemy in their fort drop cold for a moment. As one they shouted out three separate terms depending on whose army they were in as one but it was so jumbled together that the enemy couldn't understand what they were saying, but their side did.

FOR THE LOVE OF EIRE. FOR THE LOVE OF ALBION, and FOR THE LOVE OF CAMELOT.

They may have charged in the love for different names, but really they were the same thing. Even if they did not yet know it.

* * *

**End of Chapter 29**

A/N: Well, that it for this segment of the Destiny series. I hope you liked that sneak peek in the form of vision images of the future. I was doing a lot of thinking on the emotional part of the story and I decided that the title of this one should be changed to reflect it like the last one. A fork in a path is about making choices which is what Arthur and Merlin were forced to do. This one had them questioning themselves which is why I changed it to Doubts. When you have doubts in the path you take, you look both behind you and ahead of you to decide if you should keep going or turn back and take the other way seemed to make more sense. I won't change it on the other chapters because I want everyone who reads them to feel that we've gone on a path ourselves to bring the stories to where they are now. The title for the last one will be Bearing the Path to Destiny.

The first story was centered around the truth. Truth of Merlin's secret, the Purge, the deception behind Camelot and Albion's impending war and what paths in the road they took on them. The second story centered around coming and staying together. Whether joining Camelot and Albion was really a good idea or if they should stay separated which both had moments to go for it or turn away from it. The third will be centered around Redemption. It's what most people who have done wrongs want but achieving it is easier said then done. If reaching it could be too hard and painful to go through then they could easily just give up if they can't 'bear' it and just stop continuing on the path. There will be a certain trio of characters who will face that. This quote is for the next story's overall theme which I intend to use on the right chapter.

_I think positive emotion trumps negative emotion every time. We all yearn for reconciliation_.

~ Cobb, Inception


	30. Sequel up

The third and final story has been done. Go and see it and I hope that you all like it just as much if not more than the first two.


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